Courts / Kildare / Report
Hungarian jailed for life for baseball bat murder must await appeal fate
Summary
Zoltan Almasi, a 46‑year‑old Hungarian national living in Harbour View, Naas, was convicted of murdering 20‑year‑old Joseph Dunne with a baseball bat on 16 May 2014. The Central Criminal Court found him guilty after 11 hours of deliberation and imposed a mandatory life sentence on 16 March 2016. Almasi, who worked for a courier company and had lived alone, was born in Serbia and became a Hungarian national around 2007 before moving to Ireland. He has now filed an appeal, arguing that the partial defence of provocation was improperly excluded from the jury's consideration and that the prosecution had edited certain interviews. His barrister, Dominic McGinn SC, contended that the damage to Almasi's van by "drunken yobs" outside his house may have caused him to lose self‑control, a question the jury should have assessed. The appeal will be heard by the court, which has reserved its judgment.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Hungarian jailed for life for baseball bat murder must await appeal fate. Charges or matters: murdering Joseph Dunne at his home address on May 16 2014. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- May 16 2014 Incident
- March 16, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2018-01-16 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: murdering Joseph Dunne at his home address on May 16 2014 (Proven)
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; Almasi was found guilty by a majority jury verdict at the Central Criminal Court following 11 hours of deliberations and was given the mandatory life sentence by Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan on March 16, 2016.
Places mentioned
- Kildare
- Harbour View
- Central Criminal Court
- The Central Criminal Court
Topics
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