Unnamed youth’s murder appeal rejected by Court of Appeal

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

The unnamed youth’s appeal against his murder conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in December 2023; the judgment on his anonymity was delivered on 19 January 2024.

The court ruled that a person who turns 18 during criminal proceedings, or before an appeal is heard, can be identified because the statutory reporting restrictions apply only to a child under 18.

The ruling concerned the youth who pleaded guilty to murdering student Cameron Blair at a house party on Bandon Road in Cork City on 16 January 2020, when he was 17.

The court stayed the lifting of reporting restrictions to allow an appeal to the Supreme Court. The report said the youth would be named after 28 days unless his legal team pursued that appeal.