Kieran Greene murder trial jury told defence and possible verdicts

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

Mr Justice Paul McDermott told the jury in Kieran Greene’s Central Criminal Court trial that self-defence could be considered, while stressing that Greene’s defence was that he did not kill Patricia O’Connor. The proceedings were reported on 20 February 2020.

Greene was charged with murdering Patricia O’Connor at her home in Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin, on 29 May 2017. He pleaded not guilty.

The judge said the jury must acquit Greene if it was not satisfied that he had killed her. If it was satisfied that he had, it would have to consider his intent and whether self-defence was open on the evidence. The possible verdicts were guilty of murder, not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, or not guilty.

In a June 2017 interview, Greene said Patricia O’Connor had hit him on the wrist with a hurl and that he took it from her and hit her. In December 2017, he told gardaí that she had attacked him but that her husband, Augustine ‘Gus’ O’Connor, had killed her with a crowbar and Greene had taken the blame. The judge said Greene’s defence relied heavily on the later account.

Louise O’Connor, Stephanie O’Connor and Keith Johnston were separately charged with impeding Greene’s apprehension or prosecution. Louise was accused of agreeing to or acquiescing in Stephanie disguising herself as Patricia O’Connor on 29 May 2017 to conceal her death; Stephanie was accused of the disguise after the alleged murder. Johnston was accused of helping Greene buy implements on 9 June 2017 for concealing the remains. Each pleaded not guilty.

The judge told the jury to consider each accused’s case separately and not use one accused’s statements as evidence against another. He said Augustine O’Connor had pleaded guilty in October 2018 to an offence of impeding apprehension or prosecution, but that plea was irrelevant to the other accused and was not evidence against them.