Jury to deliberate on attempted murder case involving lump hammer

Lawyers for a Polish man accused of trying to kill his wife at their Dublin home have made a final plea to the jury ahead of their deliberations.

Lawyers for a Polish man accused of trying to kill his wife at their Dublin home have made a final plea to the jury ahead of their deliberations.

Andrzej Benko of Ladyswell Road, Mulhuddart admits beating Joanna Benko with a hammer but denies her attempted murder in July 2010.

Mr Benko's trial for the attempted murder of his wife took only three days of court time.

The reason for the swift proceedings is that he is not contesting the attack on his wife Joanna Benko that left her with catastrophic injuries.

He admits repeatedly hitting her on the head with a lump hammer as she slept in their bed on the morning of her birthday.

The only bone of contention for the jury to decide is whether he intended to kill her.

The prosecution argues he did and points to certain admissions made during Garda interviews.

However, his defence team contends there is a question mark over his intention and has asked the jurors to focus on the force used.

In his own words, Andrzej Benko said he hit her with "maybe 20% of his force".

His lawyers have asked the jury to consider whether a man intending to kill would have only used a fraction of his strength.

Deliberations are due to begin in the morning.

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