The jury in the trial of law professor Diarmuid Phelan, who has denied the murder of a trespasser on his Co Dublin farm, has been told the three possible verdicts open to them are murder, manslaughter or acquittal.
Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford said the prosecution case is that Keith Conlon was unlawfully shot by Mr Phelan on February 22nd 2022 and that Mr Phelan had the necessary intention for murder in that he intended to kill or cause serious injury.
The prosecution say intention was formed between the firing of the second and third of the three shots fired by Mr Phelan, she said.
To return a verdict of murder, the jury must be satisfied the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, she said.
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The defence case was that the killing was unintentional for reasons including the uneven terrain, movement of Mr Conlon, movement and stress of Mr Phelan and some deviation in the alignment of his Smith & Wesson revolver, the judge said. Mr Phelan had also raised the issue of self-defence and the onus was on the prosecution to disprove that.
The jury was told, depending on it being satisfied beyond reasonable doubt about matters including lack of intent, whether Mr Phelan had an honest belief it was necessary to use force in self-defence, and whether the force used was reasonable in the circumstances as perceived by him, verdicts of manslaughter or acquittal were open to them.
In her charge to the jury on Monday, the judge outlined the law in relation to murder, manslaughter and acquittal before proceeding to outline evidence given in the case, now in its ninth week.
The judge will continue her charge on Tuesday. After it is completed, the jury of nine men and three women will begin considering their verdict.
Mr Phelan (56), a senior counsel and law professor at Trinity College Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Conlon (36) at Hazlegrove farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, on February 24th 2022. A father of four, Mr Conlon was pronounced brain-dead at Tallaght Hospital on February 24th, two days after he was shot at the farm.
He and two other men, Kallum Coleman and Robin Duggan, were using a lurcher dog and a terrier to hunt down badgers and/or foxes, when trespassing on the farm.
After Mr Phelan, who the jury was told was concerned about lambing ewes, shot the lurcher, there were heated exchanges with the trespassers and Mr Conlon and Mr Coleman followed Mr Phelan up a field.
The prosecution case is two shots were fired into the air by Mr Phelan from his revolver and a third penetrated the body of Mr Conlon. The prosecution say, when the third shot was fired, the deceased was shot in the back of the head as he turned away and, in the circumstances, Mr Phelan had the necessary intent for murder.
When closing the prosecution case, Róisín Lacey SC said there was “nothing in the encounter” with the trespassers that could have led Mr Phelan to believe he was being presented with such a threat of force to justify producing a revolver from his pocket and to repeatedly fire that.
In his closing address for the defence, Seán Guerin SC said Mr Phelan fired three “warning” shots, there was no dispute the third hit and killed Mr Conlon, but Mr Phelan never intended to hit him.
Mr Phelan was “outnumbered” and facing “imminent attack”, counsel said. In interviews with gardaí, he told them he believed, if he had not reacted immediately, “he would have got me” and he was “terrified”.
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