Courts / Dublin / Report

Jury finds intoxicated man who killed daughter's partner guilty of murder

Date
2021-10-11

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A Dublin man, Mark Whelan, aged 48, was found guilty of murder by a unanimous jury at the Central Criminal Court after he stabbed Noel Whelan, 22, to death on 30 March 2019. Whelan was intoxicated with a mixture of cocaine, cannabis and benzodiazepines at the time of the offence and claimed he was psychotic through intoxication, not knowing the nature or wrongness of his actions. The jury rejected this defence and returned a guilty verdict in two hours. The judge, Ms Justice Tara Burns, confirmed that the prosecution and defence had accepted that Whelan killed Noel Whelan and that the evidence did not meet the threshold for diminished responsibility or not‑guilty by reason of insanity. The case was adjourned to 15 November for sentencing and victim impact statements. The trial included expert testimony from Dr Francis Kelly and Professor Harry Kennedy, who found no underlying mental disorder. Mark Whelan pleaded not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Jury finds intoxicated man who killed daughter's partner guilty of murder. Charges or matters: murdering Noel Whelan (22) at his home on March 30, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

March 30, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
November 15 Adjournment
October 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
June 2019 Other
March 30 Hearing Or Sentence
2021-10-11 Publication

Why: Prof Kennedy argued that acting out of a mistaken or delusional belief that he was defending himself and his family, or out of revenge for an imagined act, "would not necessarily amount to not knowing what he was doing". Defence account reported by CNI

Case subjects

Mark Whelan

Convicted Person

Charges: murdering Noel Whelan (22) at his home on March 30, 2019 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Outcome: Sorry for stabbing you." Sergeant Selina Proudfoot told Mr McGinn that as member-in-charge at the station, Whelan was in her care and that she regularly checked in on him with food and water during his detention.; He didn't take up a wooden spoon." After receiving the guilty verdict this morning, Ms Justice Burns adjourned the case to November 15 for sentencing and for the opportunity to consider victim impact statements.