Jury in baby Joshua trial told they can return majority verdict

At the Central Criminal Court, the jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering his infant son has been permitted to return a majority verdict. John Tighe, aged 40, of Lavallyroe, Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, pleads not guilty to the murder of his six-and-a-half-month-old son, Joshua Sussbier Tighe, who died at the family home on 1 June 2013. After six hours and 38 minutes of deliberation, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy instructed the nine women and three men that ten jurors need agree on their verdict. The judge outlined three possible verdicts: guilty of murder, not guilty, or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. The prosecution contends the child choked on tissue deliberately placed in his throat. The accused maintains he discovered the baby choking on tissue after returning from the toilet while changing his nappy. The judge explained the legal thresholds for each verdict to the jury.