Courts / Kilkenny / Report
Cold case murder accused told fellow Church member that he killed widow and set fire to her house, trial hears
Summary
In a cold‑case murder trial in Kilkenny, 53‑year‑old John Joseph Malone is accused of strangling 69‑year‑old Ann 'Nancy' Smyth on 11 September 1987 and setting fire to her Wolfe Tone Street home. Malone pleaded not guilty. Witness Jude Curran, a long‑time friend and church member, testified that Malone confessed to him that he had killed Smyth, arguing that forensic evidence of strangulation conflicted with his account. Curran described several conversations in which Malone claimed he had pushed Smyth, that she fell, and that he had set the house on fire. Curran also recounted that Malone had told him he could not sleep over the case and that he had considered confessing to a police officer. The trial continues with Malone's defence counsel cross‑examining Curran on the alleged confessions and the evidence presented. The court heard no further evidence of a verdict or sentencing.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Cold case murder accused told fellow Church member that he killed widow and set fire to her house, trial hears. Charges or matters: murdering 69-year-old Ann 'Nancy' Smyth on 11th September 1987 at her home on Wolfe Tone Street in the city. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- 11th September 1987 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2017-03-28 Publication
Why: "I said, if you like I can go to the guards' barracks with you and bring a solicitor and, because you're confessing and they've nothing else on you, you'd get a light sentence," said Mr Curran. CNI source report
Case subjects
Accused
Charges: murdering 69-year-old Ann 'Nancy' Smyth on 11th September 1987 at her home on Wolfe Tone Street in the city (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Outcome: He said he told him that King David and Moses had murdered people and were in Heaven, but that they had been sorry. "He said: 'Well what if this person isn't sorry for what they've done?'" said Mr Curran. "Then I just said they'd be wasting their time." He said that the accused came to see him again a few months later. "He just said to me that he couldn't make out how forensics says that Mrs Smyth was strangled," he said. "He had told me that he had argued with her and that he pushed her and she fell," he continued, adding that Mr Malone had told him she had banged her head off a stone. "That
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
- Wolfe Tone Street
- they were from Kilkenny Garda Station
- Kilkenny
Topics
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