Jury hears closing arguments in trial of man accused of murdering his baby son
The prosecution in the trial of a Mayo man accused of killing his baby son has told the jury that it was not a simple accident, but murder.
John Tighe (aged 40) of Lavallyroe in Ballyhaunis denies murdering six-month-old Joshua in June 2013 by placing two tissues in his mouth.
On June 1, 2013 – six-and-a-half-month-old baby Joshua died at his father’s home in Ballyhaunis in Co Mayo.
A post mortem showed he had choked to death and had a wad – comprising of two tissues - in his throat.
In his closing speech, the prosecuting barrister said that what happened was not a simple accident but murder and that the object was deliberately placed in the baby’s mouth and pushed down.
He said there are 10 inconsistencies with what the accused says happened that day and also asked the jury to look at the medical evidence.
The accused’s barrister said that Mr Tighe is a well-regarded man who rang doctors on the day his baby died, which does not chime with an intention to kill.
The jury was also told the accused rekindled his relationship with the baby’s mother after the death and they had another child together.
The accused’s barrister asked the jury to consider if she would have gotten back with him if she felt he had killed her boy.
