Court of Appeal dismisses Waldemar Solowiow’s murder appeal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Waldemar Solowiow’s appeal against his murder conviction. Mr. Justice Edwards delivered the judgment on 12 April 2016.

Solowiow was convicted of murdering Mary Ryan on 31 October 2013 following an eight-day trial. He had offered a plea to manslaughter, which the Director of Public Prosecutions did not accept.

The case concerned events between 18 and 19 May 2012 at the couple’s apartment at No. 3 Upper Sherrard Street, Dublin, after their landlord told them to leave. The Assistant State Pathologist concluded that Mary Ryan died from a larynx fracture and blunt trauma to the head.

Solowiow initially told gardaí that three men had attacked her. During later interviews he admitted killing her, but said he acted in a fit of rage and did not intend to harm her. His account was that, after he slapped her face, she grabbed his chest and they fought.

His appeal challenged the jury directions on subjective provocation, the mental element of murder, the statutory presumption under section 4(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1964, the majority verdict, his lies and the pathologist’s evidence.

The court found the provocation directions adequately contextualised and the treatment of the mental element adequate. It considered his lies less significant because whether he killed Mary Ryan was no longer disputed at trial. It also held that, without contrary evidence, the jury was entitled to accept the pathologist’s findings.

A related-case extract records that Solowiow subsequently sought and was granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.