Michael Furlong’s murder retrial prohibited by High Court

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

Michael Furlong was charged with murdering Patrick Connors at the Central Criminal Court, where Mr Justice Barry White presided over the trial in November 2013. He had pleaded not guilty to the murder. The proceedings were reported on 18 November 2013.

The trial began on 5 November 2013 and collapsed after concerns arose about Deputy State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar’s opinion on the mechanism of death. Mr Justice White discharged the jury and ordered the case to be listed for retrial on 18 November 2013.

Mr Furlong denied murdering or assaulting Mr Connors and suggested he might have stumbled on the stairs and fallen. The defence called former assistant State pathologist Declan Gilsenan to challenge Dr Jabbar’s finding that Mr Connors died from head injuries, with alcohol contributing.

A later report said the High Court prohibited the holding of a retrial. It also reported that a Medical Council committee found three allegations of professional misconduct and poor professional performance against Khalid Jaber proven, including concerns about evidence given in Mr Furlong’s case.