Bradley family murder trial jury to continue deliberations

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The jury in the murder trial of Paul Bradley and his sons Jason Bradley and Dean Bradley was due to continue its deliberations after two days considering its verdict. The proceedings were reported on 11 July 2018.

Paul Bradley, Jason Bradley and Dean Bradley had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Neil Reilly at Esker Glebe in Lucan, Dublin, on 18 January 2017. A third son, Ryan Bradley, was acquitted of murder on 9 July 2018 by direction of the judge.

The jury foreman asked Justice Paul Coffey to explain the charges and possible verdicts for each man and to reiterate the definition of provocation. The judge said he would address the questions on Thursday so deliberations could resume.

The trial heard that Jason Bradley owed Mr Reilly more than €9,000 for drugs and that Mr Reilly had previously broken into the Bradley home and fired two shots at it. The prosecution alleged that Jason beat Mr Reilly to death with a sharp implement and that Paul was involved in a joint enterprise with him.

Jason’s barrister, Michael Bowman SC, said there was evidence that his client had lost all self-control through provocation and should be found guilty of manslaughter. Paul’s barrister, Brendan Grehan SC, asked for an acquittal, saying a guilty verdict would blame Paul for Jason’s actions.

Dean admitted his BMW struck and drove over Mr Reilly, which the prosecution said was deliberate. His barrister, Matthias Kelly SC, said it was an accident caused by Dean’s poor eyesight and Mr Reilly lying in the road as the car approached at speed.

This case may have concluded differently. The outcome has not yet been confirmed by a public source we could find.