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Convicted rapist engages new lawyers in death threat trial
Summary
Michael Murray, 50, a convicted rapist, faces trial for threatening to kill senior counsel Dominic McGinn and barrister Tony McGillicuddy. He is also accused of creating online ads in 2014‑2015 that advertised McGinn, the woman he raped, and his former solicitor as prostitutes. Murray denies the allegations. In a Garda interview, he admitted wanting to kill McGinn because McGinn secured his 2013 rape conviction, and claimed he had planned a hit that night but cancelled it to "do it myself." He also said he had arranged for his former defence solicitor to be abducted by a "foreign gang," a plan he also cancelled. Murray has pleaded guilty to possessing a Samsung phone seized in 2015. The judge announced that he has engaged a new legal team, and the trial will resume on Wednesday morning.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Convicted rapist engages new lawyers in death threat trial. Charges or matters: making threats to kill against senior counsel Dominic McGinn and fellow barrister Tony McGillicuddy; possessing a Samsung phone seized from him at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise on May 11, 2015. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- May 11, 2015 Adjournment
- October 2014 Adjournment
- 2021-06-21 Publication
Why: Last week, the jury watched a recording of a Garda interview in which Murray admitted he wanted to kill Mr McGinn because he was the prosecutor who secured a conviction of rape against him in 2013. Prosecution account reported by CNI
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: making threats to kill against senior counsel Dominic McGinn and fellow barrister Tony McGillicuddy; possessing a Samsung phone seized from him at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise on May 11, 2015 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The jury was brought out for just a few minutes today, before the trial was adjourned. "At this point, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Murray has engaged a new legal team," Judge Karen O'Connor told the jury this afternoon.
Places mentioned
- Midlands Prison
Topics
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