Celyn Eadon wins appeal over mother’s murder conviction

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

Celyn Eadon won his Supreme Court appeal over his murder conviction for the killing of his mother, with the court ruling the conviction unsafe. The proceedings were reported on 20 December 2019.

The five-judge Supreme Court found that the trial judge’s instructions on intoxication and specific intention were inadequate and could have misled the jury. Mr Justice William McKechnie said the issue was whether Eadon had in fact formed the necessary intent, while Mr Justice Peter Charleton gave a concurring judgment.

Patrick Gageby SC confirmed that Eadon had pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the outset of his trial. That plea had not been accepted, after which he relied on diminished responsibility and intoxication; the jury rejected the diminished-responsibility defence.

The report said a psychiatrist considered Eadon grossly intoxicated and experiencing psychotic symptoms that affected his capacity to form specific intent. It also reported that Eadon killed Noreen Kelly in a knife attack on 9 March 2011 at about 1.30am.

The DPP was to decide whether to accept the manslaughter plea, which would lead to sentencing for manslaughter, or pursue a retrial on the murder charge.