Courts / Offaly / Report
Man appeals conviction for "brutal, motiveless" murder of elderly man
Summary
A 64-year-old man, Seán Davy, has appealed his conviction for the murder of Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley, who was brutally beaten to death in his home in Edenderry on February 12, 2014. Seán Davy, along with Matthew Cummins and James Davy, was found guilty by a jury of the murder of Mr Dooley, who suffered eight blows to the head with a baseball bat. All three men had denied the charges. They were each given a mandatory life sentence by Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan in October 2016, who described the attack as 'brutal, motiveless' and targeted a 'defenceless elderly man'. Seán Davy's barrister, Ronan Munro SC, argued that his client's conviction was unsafe due to a pre-trial decision not to sever the indictment and order separate trials. He claimed that the garda statements of James Davy and Matthew Cummins gave the jury a 'peculiarly vivid' picture that it was 'all Seán Davy's fault', which overwhelmed any judicial direction. Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Patrick Treacy SC, stated that the case was presented as one of joint enterprise or common design, with Seán Davy being the only accused who admitted striking the deceased with a baseball bat. The court has reserved its judgement on the appeal.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Man appeals conviction for "brutal, motiveless" murder of elderly man. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- February 12, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 10, 2016 Incident
- 2018-07-16 Publication
Why: Furthermore, Mr Munro said, James Davy ascribed a motive to Seán Davy for what he had allegedly done. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; Laywers for one of three men jailed for breaking into the home of a 64-year-old man and beating him to death have told the Court of Appeal that their client could not get a fair trial alongside his two co-accused.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- The Central Criminal Court
- Mr Dooley's house
Topics
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