Eleanor Joel and Jonathan Costen manslaughter convictions quashed

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Eleanor Joel and Jonathan Costen had their manslaughter convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal on 5 March 2016. The convictions followed a retrial concerning the neglect of Evelyn Joel at a home in Wexford.

The couple had been given two-year suspended sentences at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court in March 2013, subject to 230 hours of community service. The appeal court found that several grounds succeeded, including concerns about causation and the trial judge’s directions on duty of care.