The Court of Appeal has quashed the murder convictions of Matthew Cummins and James Davy over the 2014 killing of Thomas (Toddy) Dooley in Edenderry, substituting convictions for assisting an offender and sending the case to the Central Criminal Court for sentence.
In a judgment delivered remotely on 13 July 2021, the court found there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could infer that Cummins and Davy had agreed, expressly or tacitly, to take part in an attack intended to cause serious harm. It held that the trial judge should have directed the jury to find them not guilty of murder.
The men had been convicted after a 19-day trial that began in July 2016. The prosecution’s case was that the three accused, including Sean Davy, acted together. Evidence included CCTV showing them leaving a house party and heading towards Dooley’s home, and later disposing of items at a recycling centre. Dooley was found dead with severe injuries; a baseball bat recovered from a recycling bin had his blood on it. The case against the appellants included their presence at the house and their involvement in disposing of items afterwards. Both denied striking Dooley. Sean Davy admitted striking him.
The Court of Appeal said the bat’s significance was reduced by evidence that James Davy had carried it openly for much of the evening, rather than retrieving it specifically before going to Dooley’s home. The court also noted evidence that young people had previously entered Dooley’s home through a window to socialise. In that context, the entry and the men’s conduct after the killing, including disposing of incriminating items, did not establish the required agreement. The court described the case as finely balanced and unusual.
The appellants had also challenged the refusal to separate their trials and the trial judge’s refusal to direct acquittals. The court rejected the severance grounds, finding no error in holding a joint trial. It did not address the remaining appeal grounds after finding the murder convictions should be quashed.
The court allowed the appeals against the murder convictions and, under section 3(1)(d) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1993, substituted convictions for assisting an offender under section 7(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1997. It remitted the matter to the Central Criminal Court for sentence. The judgment does not state what sentence was imposed.