A man serving a mandatory life sentence for the murder of his infant son has appealed his conviction at the Court of Appeal, challenging the admissibility of postmortem evidence presented during his trial. John Tighe of Lavallyroe, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo was convicted in March 2018 of murdering his six-and-a-half-month-old son in June 2013. The defence argues the trial judge erred in admitting extracts from a postmortem report prepared by the former Deputy State Pathologist, who was unavailable to attend trial and be cross-examined. Instead, evidence was presented through an alternative pathologist via video link. The defence contends this breached fair trial principles by preventing meaningful challenge to the original findings. The State's counsel argued the subsequent expert was called based on independent medical recommendations and provided his own assessment of the evidence. The three-judge court reserved judgment.
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Original report plus public source leads and related archive reports used for review context.
Public source leads
- Man pleads guilty to murdering two sons in Mayo - RTE.ie RTE.ie · Tue, 07 Oct 2014 07:00:00 GMT
- Mayo father suspected of killing wife, attacking son - then taking own life - Irish Independent Irish Independent · Sat, 05 Nov 2016 07:00:00 GMT
- John Tighe given life sentence for murdering 6½-month-old son - The Irish Times The Irish Times · Fri, 23 Mar 2018 07:00:00 GMT
- Baby’s death in 2013 ruled as unlawful homicide by Mayo coroner - The Irish Times The Irish Times · Mon, 21 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT
- 'He was my boy' - Man accused of murdering six-month-old son told gardai he had never hurt him, court hears - Irish Independent Irish Independent · Fri, 16 Mar 2018 07:00:00 GMT
- Father goes on trial after plea of not guilty to murdering baby son - The Irish Times The Irish Times · Mon, 26 Feb 2018 08:00:00 GMT
- Closing speeches in trial of man over death of infant son - RTE.ie RTE.ie · Tue, 20 Mar 2018 07:00:00 GMT
- Baby Joshua's mother 'can still feel his lifeless hand', court hears as John Tighe gets life for his son's murder - Irish Examiner Irish Examiner · Fri, 23 Mar 2018 07:00:00 GMT
Related court reports
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