A judge will on Wednesday continue her charge to the jury in the trial of law professor Diarmuid Phelan, who has denied murdering a trespasser on his Co Dublin farm.
Mr Phelan (56), a senior counsel and law professor at Trinity College, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Keith Conlon (36) at Hazlegrove farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, on February 24th, 2022.
Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford has been outlining aspects of evidence heard during the Central Criminal Court trial, now in its ninth week. She began her charge last Wednesday afternoon for about an hour before the trial was adjourned to Monday due to juror commitments.
The charge continued during Monday and Tuesday and will resume on Wednesday morning. It is unclear when the charge will conclude but, when it does, the jury of nine men and three women will begin considering their verdict.
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Ms Justice Lankford has told the jury the three possible verdicts open to them are murder, manslaughter or acquittal.
Mr Conlon and two other men, Kallum Coleman and Robin Duggan, were using a lurcher dog and a terrier to hunt down badgers and/or foxes on the farm on February 22nd, 2022. A father of four, Mr Conlon was pronounced brain dead at Tallaght hospital on February 24th, two days after he was shot by Mr Phelan at 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 Mc Coleman followed Mr Phelan up a field. The prosecution case is that two shots were fired into the air by Mr Phelan from his Smith & Wesson revolver and a third shot penetrated the body of Mr Conlon.
When the third shot was fired, the prosecution contends, 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. The prosecution say the intention was formed between the firing of the second and third shot.
Róisín Lacey SC, when closing the case for the Director of Public Prosecutions, 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 it.
The jury has heard Mr Phelan told gardaí in interviews on the day of the shooting that he believed, if he had not reacted immediately, “he would have got me” and that he was “terrified”.
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 the accused never intended to hit him and was “stunned” when he fell. Mr Phelan was “outnumbered” and facing “imminent attack”, counsel said.
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