Judge warns jury to 'be especially cautious' when considering identification evidence in murder trial

A judge has warned the jury in the case of a man accused of murdering a former soldier that they must "be especially cautious" when considering identification evidence heard during the trial.

Judge warns jury to 'be especially cautious' when considering identification evidence in murder trial

A judge has warned the jury in the case of a man accused of murdering a former soldier that they must "be especially cautious" when considering identification evidence heard during the trial.

Mr Justice Michael White has finished charging the jury in the Central Criminal Court trial of Gary Watson (35), who is accused of murdering Warren O’Connor (24) nine years ago in north Dublin.

Mr O’Connor died from a single stab wound to the neck and the knife’s blade was found “partially impaled” in his body when his post-mortem was conducted.

Mr Watson, with an address at Millbrook Avenue, Kilbarrack, Dublin 13 has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr O’Connor at Hole in the Wall Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13 on January 16, 2010.

Mr Watson also denies assaulting Philip Woodcock (34) causing him harm on the same occasion and producing a knife to intimidate another person in the course of a dispute.

The two-week trial has heard that a fight ensued between two groups of men after Mr Woodcock removed a fuse and cut power to his neighbour’s apartment so an allegedly "noisy house party" would end and the occupants would leave.

Mr Justice White told the jury that they must deal with each charge separately but could consider the entire evidence heard in the trial in relation to all three charges.

The judge emphasised to the jury that if they decided that Mr Watson was guilty of assault causing harm and producing a knife, they could not “make the jump or infer” that Mr Watson was guilty of murder.

The judge said there were two verdicts the jury could return in relation to the murder charge, namely; guilty or not guilty. There was no issue of joint enterprise arising in the trial, he explained.

Mr Justice White said the only witness who saw Mr O’Connor being stabbed was Gary Foy and there was no corroborative support of this piece of evidence.

Mr Foy gave evidence in the trial that he looked out his bedroom window on the night when he heard shouting coming from Hole in the Wall Road. My Foy said he heard a man wearing a white hoodie say “get that into you” and saw him make a stabbing motion towards another man's chest during a row.

Mr Woodcock testified that one of the men in his neighbour's apartment was wearing a Russell Athletic hoodie on the night and had hit him with the top of his head. The witness also gave evidence that the man in the Russell Athletic hoodie later stabbed him in the shoulder on Hole in the Wall Road.

Amy Kinsella gave evidence that she was at a party in her sister's apartment with Mr Watson on the night and he was wearing a white hoodie with writing on the chest.

James Dwyer SC, prosecuting, said in his closing speech yesterday (Wednesday) that Mr Foy was “clear” in his evidence that the person who carried out the fatal stabbing was wearing a white hoodie and the jury could “comfortably rely” on this evidence.

However, Anne-Marie Lawlor SC for Mr Watson said the case “stands and falls” on Mr Foy’s evidence and they had to be sure that what Mr Foy said “was enough” as there was “nothing else” in the case.

The judge gave the jury two warnings this afternoon, a delay warning as the event occurred nine years ago as well as an identification warning.

Mr Justice White said the delay in the case coming to trial made the jurors task “more difficult” as witnesses' memories have inevitably failed since 2010 so he asked them to be “all the more careful” in their deliberations.

Where the delay or passage of time has resulted in the failure of witnesses to recall events or details, that delay cannot benefit the prosecution.

"If the failure of memory creates a doubt in your mind that doubt is to be treated in the same way as any other doubt and the benefit is to be given to the accused,” he explained.

Concerning the visual identification evidence warning or Casey warning, the judge said the jury had been asked by the prosecution to rely on the identification evidence of Mr Foy.

He asked them to "be especially cautious" as there have been a number of incidents in the past where people have made positive identifications that have proved to be erroneous.

However, if the jury was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt as to the identification of colour, clothing and height, they were at liberty to act on it.

Mr Justice White told the jurors that they must be unanimous in their decision in respect of the three counts before sending them away to begin deliberations.

The jury of seven men and five women spent less than an hour considering their verdicts before retiring for the evening and will resume deliberations tomorrow morning.

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