Sentencing of teen who fatally stabbed 17-year-old in row over his sister is adjourned

The Central Criminal Court in Dublin heard today that the defendant, who cannot be named because of his age, has developed epilepsy, sometimes suffering from ten seizures a day, and that a custodial sentence would at present not be safe.

The defendant, who is now 17, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by a jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Castlebar last year.

The deceased, Dovydas Jenkas, of Mount Street, Claremorris, died from a single stab wound in the early hours of December 19th, 2015 in Claremorris.

Previously the court has heard that the defendant stabbed Dovydas after learning he was in a bedroom with the offender's 14-year-old sister.

Today, the court heard evidence from Dr Timothy Counihan, consultant neurologist at Galway University Hospital, who described the defendant's condition.

He told defence counsel Michael Bowman SC that the defendant has been suffering from "multiple daily seizures of varying degrees of severity".

Outlining findings contained in a medical report, the doctor said that the defendant suffers from localized-related epilepsy, attributable to a brain lesion in the left temporal lobe, which has not responded to standard medical treatments.

Dr Counihan estimated that the patient could be operated on within three to four months, and that he would then need to be kept under observation post-operation for six months to a year.

He said that until then he could not see a situation where it would be safe for the defendant to be in custody and expressed concern about putting him in a place where there would be no observation.

The doctor concluded that at present the patient is not fit for custodial sentence and that the situation could be reviewed again after surgery.

The defendant and the deceased, whose families are originally from Lithuania, had both attended the same school and knew each other through playing basketball.

The court had previously heard that a relationship had developed between the deceased boy and the defendant's 14-year-old sister.

Shortly before midnight on December 19, 2015 the sister let Dovydas into their house and at 1am the defendant learned that someone was in the bedroom with her.

Dovydas went into the ensuite bathroom and the defendant tried to get in but the deceased held the door closed and wouldn't let him in.

The defendant went to his bedroom and picked up a homemade knife.

He returned to his mother's bedroom, looked out the window and saw Dovydas climbing down the pipe at the back of the house.

The defendant went into the garden, where there was a trampoline.

The deceased ran and was pursued by the accused. He was running around the trampoline when the fatal stabbing occurred.

Dovydas was stabbed once in the chest and fell to the ground and died shortly after.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon listed the case for mention again on July 24th, when counsel will update the court on the matter.