Gary Walsh murder trial ends in hung jury

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

Gary Walsh’s murder trial ended with a hung jury at the Central Criminal Court on 3 May 2017. The jury could not agree unanimously or by majority on the murder charge, and Mr Justice Michael Moriarty declared a disagreement. Walsh had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. The proceedings were reported on 4 May 2017.

The case concerned the death of Cathal Sweeney after an assault in Ashdale Gardens, Terenure, Dublin, on 8 February 2014. The court heard that he died from blunt force trauma after the assault in a mutual friend’s flat.

Walsh admitted punching Sweeney. The State said the issue was whether he had intended to cause serious injury. The defence said Walsh could not have known that Sweeney was on warfarin or had a serious liver problem that would contribute to him bleeding profusely into his airways.

It was the second time a jury had disagreed in the case. The judge listed it for mention.