Joseph Hillen guilty of manslaughter, not murder

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

Joseph Hillen was found guilty of manslaughter, not murder, after his trial, reported on 11 October 2018. The killing happened at Carnmore, Balriggan, Dundalk, Co Louth, on 28 September 2015.

Hillen had pleaded not guilty to murdering taxi driver Martin Mulligan but admitted stabbing him, saying he acted in self-defence. The jury returned a majority verdict, with 10 members agreeing and two disagreeing.

Justice Eileen Creedon set 3 December 2018 for a sentence hearing. The pathologist said the fatal wounds were consistent with Hillen’s account, while the prosecution argued that his story was not credible.