Keith O’Neill fails in appeal against murder conviction

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

Keith O’Neill failed to overturn his murder conviction at the Court of Appeal on 27 July 2022. He had pleaded not guilty to murdering John Wilson.

O’Neill was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Tony Hunt at the Central Criminal Court in May 2015. His appeal challenged the trial judge’s conduct and the admission of gunshot-residue evidence, which the defence argued could have been contaminated by the garda who seized the clothing.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the trial judge had not gone further than necessary and dismissed the appeal. The proceedings were reported on 27 July 2022.