Keith Connorton found guilty of Tallaght murder

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

Keith Connorton was found guilty of murdering Graham McKeever. He had denied the charge. The proceedings were reported on 21 December 2018.

McKeever, 32, was stabbed at Connorton’s home on Deerpark Avenue, Tallaght, on 18 February 2017. The report said a fight broke out after Connorton returned home and found McKeever with his partner, Claire McGrath. McKeever suffered four stab wounds, one of which penetrated his heart and killed him.

Connorton said he acted in self-defence after McKeever punched him, breaking his eye socket, and then came at him with a knife.

After deliberating for about two hours and 51 minutes, the jury asked whether it could return a majority verdict. Mr Justice Tony Hunt said a verdict could be returned if ten jurors agreed. About ten minutes later, the jury returned a guilty verdict by a 10–2 majority.

The report said Connorton would be sentenced to life imprisonment at a later sitting, when McKeever’s family would have an opportunity to make a statement about the impact of his death.