A MAN will be given a mandatory life sentence after being convicted of murdering his friend in a row in Co Wicklow last year.
Thomas O’Connor (24), of Burnaby Court, Greystones, had pleaded not guilty to murdering John O’Brien at Farrankelly Road, Delgany, on June 4th, 2010.
But the jury of six men and six women returned a unanimous guilty verdict after nearly four hours of deliberation.
Mr Justice Barry White deferred sentencing until December 12th to allow for preparation of a victim impact report.
However, the jury was told he had no discretion in departing from the mandatory life sentence, before he exempted them from any further duty for 15 years.
The trial heard evidence from Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis that the cause of death was catastrophic brain injury due to blunt force trauma to the head.
O’Connor had told gardaí in interview that Mr O’Brien had started the row and then tried to hit him with a rock first.
He told gardaí he then got the rock but only hit Mr O’Brien two or three times and said he “didn’t mean to kill him”.
The accused said in interview he was “in a rage”, and when asked by gardaí if he thought he had “lost it” in the row, he said that he had.
Mr Justice White had earlier told the jury there was no option of acquitting the accused man – they must return a verdict of either guilty of murder, or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
He said the issue was whether this was murder or whether it was manslaughter by reason of provocation.
Defence counsel Michael O’Higgins submitted Mr O’Brien was a violent man and behaved in “an extremely erratic matter when he had drink taken”.
Mr O’Higgins submitted an injury to O’Connor’s ear “in all probability did come from the deceased, and the correct verdict is manslaughter.”