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Evidence from 'execution' of BBC presenter Jill Dando cited in murder appeal

Summary

In a Court of Appeal hearing on 25 February 2022, Keith O'Neill, aged 46, sought to have his murder conviction quashed. He had been found guilty of shooting John Wilson, aged 35, to death on 28 September 2012 at Wilson's home on Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, and sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Tony Hunt in May 2015. O'Neill's lawyers argued that evidence of gunshot residue on clothes he had dumped in a skip should not have been admitted to the jury. They cited a forensic expert's testimony that a single particle of residue found in the right pocket of a coat had helped convict the Englishman Barry George of BBC presenter Jill Dando's murder in 2001. Mr Justice John Edwards noted that new guidelines in England recommend caution when considering small amounts of residue. Conor Devally SC for the Director of Public Prosecutions said the guidelines were proposals and not yet established protocols. Keith O'Neill pleaded not guilty. Jill Dando was acquitted.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Evidence from 'execution' of BBC presenter Jill Dando cited in murder appeal. Charges or matters: shooting dead John Wilson (35) on September 28, 2012 at Mr Wilson's home on Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10; Ms Dando's murder following a trial in 2001 but he successfully appealed against the conviction and was acquitted in 2008. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Acquitted

When:

• September 28, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
• April 1999 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-02-25 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report