Jury begins deliberations in Dublin murder trial
A Central Criminal Court jury has begun its deliberations in the trial of a Dublin man charged with murdering a fellow Dubliner four years ago.
Paul Kelly (aged 26) of O’Brien Hall in Dublin City died almost instantly when he was shot several times on the night of April 6 2007.
Michael Taylor (aged 31) of Summerhill in the city has pleaded not guilty to his murder at Winston Ville apartments on Charlemont Road, Clontarf, where Mr Kelly had been staying.
The nine-day trial has heard that two men in balaclavas and gloves were seen fleeing the scene after Mr Kelly sustained multiple gun-shot wounds in the lobby of the building.
A glove found nearby had DNA matching the defendant’s as well as a small amount of DNA from another person. The State is also relying on mobile phone evidence and a feud between the Taylor and Kelly families, which it says amounts to motive.
The judge has told the jury that these three strands of evidence are circumstantial, and while separately they might not be enough to convict him, together they could be sufficient.
The nine men and three women of the jury had deliberated for just over two hours when Mr Justice Barry White sent them home for the weekend. They will continue their deliberations on Monday.
