A murder trial jury has been discharged because the judge said he could not hear the prosecuting counsel during his closing speech.
Mr Justice Paul Carney made his comments at the conclusion of the trial of John O'Neill (56) from Mercer House flats in Dublin who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter but not guilty to the murder of Rosemary Dowling (49) whose naked body was found wrapped in bedclothes outside his flat on October 25th last year.
The jury had already risen to consider its verdict after hearing three days of evidence.
Mr Justice Carney said the closing speech made by Gerard Clarke SC was "mumbled and muttered" and said he was seeking a new jury to try the case.
The dramatic collapse followed a submission by counsel for the accused Mr Brendan Grehan SC who said a speech given by the prosecution was "grossly misleading and inflammatory" and beyond the realms of what might normally be included in a closing speech.
Mr Grehan asked the judge for the jury to be discharged. However Mr Justice Carney said he could not adjudicate on the matter as he had not heard parts of the speech.
He put the case back to the next list to fix dates where he said the trial judge would be able to adequately hear the case made by either side.