Zoltan Almasi’s manslaughter plea accepted after third murder trial

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

Zoltan Almasi pleaded not guilty to murdering Joseph Dunne and guilty to his manslaughter. The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the manslaughter plea. The proceedings were reported on 16 July 2021.

Almasi was charged with murdering Dunne at Harbour View, Naas, on 16 May 2014. Judge Michael White remanded him in custody until 3 September for a sentence hearing and ordered reports from his prison governor, chaplain and a prison psychologist. The report said Almasi had been in custody for seven years.

Almasi had been convicted of murder after his first trial, but the Supreme Court quashed the conviction. His second trial ended in a jury disagreement, and his third ended on 1 July when the jury again could not agree.

The jury heard that Almasi went outside with a baseball bat after hearing banging on his van and chased Dunne. CCTV showed him raising the bat before both disappeared from view. Dunne died from a severe traumatic head injury. Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis said a single blow had caused the injury and that the force used was severe.

Almasi testified that he went out to defend himself and his van and to chase the youths away. He said he did not realise he had struck Dunne until he later saw an ambulance and Garda car. He agreed he delivered the force but denied hearing or feeling the impact.

Defence barrister Barra McGrory suggested the force could be evidence that Almasi had lost control after the attack on his van. Prosecuting counsel Caroline Biggs argued that Dunne was running away and posed no threat, and that Almasi had struck him in anger rather than through a complete loss of self-control.