Wife's wish to move on not a 'provocative act', prosecution tell murder trial jury

At the Central Criminal Court on 17 May 2021, closing speeches were delivered in the trial of a 35-year-old Sligo man charged with murdering his wife in April 2018. The accused has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder. The jury must determine whether he intended to kill and whether he was provoked to lose self-control. The defence argued that the killing was a spontaneous reaction in the heat of the…