A man cannot be retried on a murder charge following the collapse of his trial as a result of disputed pathology evidence, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
The dispute arose when State Pathologist Marie Cassidy voiced concern over evidence given by her former deputy, Khalid Jaber.
Her concerns led to the collapse of the trial of Michael Furlong (37), of the Moyne, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, who denied the murder of Patrick Connors (37) at the Carraig Tur apartment complex in April 2011. The Director of Public Prosecutions then applied for the jury to be discharged.
The DPP proposed a retrial, but Mr Furlong’s lawyers brought proceedings seeking to prevent this.
In finding against the DPP, the High Court said it “cannot imagine how the difficulties surrounding the pathology evidence might be addressed, let alone resolved” in a retrial.
The DPP appealed against that decision, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.