Courts / Waterford / Report
Murderer's admissions while intoxicated should not have been admissible, lawyers argue
Summary
Stephen Keane, 33, of Coolfin Meadows, Portlaw, was convicted of murder for the death of John Lowe, 60, in December 2018. He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not to murder. Keane claimed intoxication and that he had only struck Lowe once, but the trial judge allowed admissions he made to Gardaí during pre‑detention interviews and notebook entries to be admitted as evidence. Keane's lawyers argue that these admissions were made while he was intoxicated, without legal advice, and should have been excluded. They contend the judge erred in admitting the Garda notebook entries and in not applying the same fairness test used for the first two interviews. The Court of Appeal will decide on June 15. The case remains at the appeal stage, with no verdict yet.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Murderer's admissions while intoxicated should not have been admissible, lawyers argue. Charges or matters: manslaughter but not guilty to Mr Lowe's murder. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- May 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 13, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 13 Hearing Or Sentence
- June 15 Incident
- 2023-06-08 Publication
Why: Keane had claimed to have hit Mr Lowe with "one punch" and said that he "knew he had killed him because he caught him clean". CNI source report
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: manslaughter but not guilty to Mr Lowe's murder (Proven)
Plea: Guilty
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; Moving to appeal his murder conviction today in the Court of Appeal, Mr Cody said that the trial judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott erred in ruling that alleged admissions made by Keane to members of An Garda Siochana in the course of pre-detention conversations were admissible. A voir dire [a hearing in the absence of the jury] was held in relation to the admissibility of the interviews, due to his intoxicated and agitated state, and also in relation to the notebook entries made by Gda Walsh, which recorded various admissions made by the appellant in the pre detention stage but were not signed by Keane until the next day.
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
- Court of Appeal
- University Hospital
Topics
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