David O'Loughlin's murder conviction quashed on appeal

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

David O'Loughlin’s murder conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal on 9 February 2018. The conviction arose from the death of Liam Manley, who was forced into a refuse chute at an apartment complex in Cork on 12 May 2013.

The court found that allowing the jury to visit the chute without an application from either side was technically unlawful. At least one juror also threw a stone down the chute during the visit, an act the court said placed the examination on an entirely different level.

The court said the jury ought to have been discharged in the circumstances. It was to hear submissions at a later date on whether a retrial should be ordered.