Joe Heffernan begins appeal against murder conviction

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

Joe Heffernan began an appeal against his murder conviction at the Court of Appeal on 25 March 2015. He had been convicted of murdering student Eoin Ryan, whose body was found on Heffernan’s farm at Cappagh Beg on 7 June 2011.

His counsel argued that prosecutors should have proved beyond reasonable doubt that Heffernan was not suffering diminished responsibility. The Court of Appeal heard opposing submissions on the statutory burden of proof and reserved its decision.