Courts / Waterford / Report
Conviction for 'brutal, horrendous murder' of 60-year-old is upheld
Summary
In Waterford, Stephen Keane, aged 33, was convicted of the brutal murder of 60‑year‑old John Lowe on 13 December 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Keane had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not to murder. He claimed he struck Lowe once with a punch, that Lowe had approached him with a knife, and that he was intoxicated and had no legal advice when he made admissions to Gardaí. The trial judge ruled the Garda notebook entries of Keane's admissions admissible, and the jury found him guilty. Keane appealed, arguing that the admissions were made while he was intoxicated and should have been excluded. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, affirming the trial judge's decision that the evidence was admissible and that the judge had correctly applied the law on voluntariness and fairness. The conviction and life sentence remain in force.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Conviction for 'brutal, horrendous murder' of 60-year-old is upheld. Charges or matters: manslaughter but not guilty to Mr Lowe's murder. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- May 2021 Incident
- December 13, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 13 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2023-11-07 Publication
Why: The man's legal team had submitted to the Court of Appeal that admissions the appellant made to gardai in the course of pre-detention conversations should not have been admissible as evidence because they argued he was without legal advice and intoxicated at the time. 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; Appealing his murder conviction last June, 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
- Court of Appeal
- Central Criminal Court
- before arrival at the garda station
- University Hospital
Topics
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