A jury in a murder trial at the Central Criminal Court failed to reach a verdict last night and was sent to a hotel.
Mr William Carroll (52), of no fixed abode, has denied the murder of Mr Thomas Harte (40), of Allen's Square, Ballymacthomas, Cork, at a disused house in Leitrim Street in the north of the city on dates unknown between the 19th and 20th of May, 1997.
The jury has heard that Mr Harte was bludgeoned with a blunt instrument, causing multiple fractures of his facial bones and severe bleeding.
The Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, who examined the body at the scene and carried out the subsequent post-mortem, has previously told the court Mr Harte had multiple bruises to his head causing his brain to swell. She said he had several teeth missing and one broken rib, which had punctured his lung.
Large amounts of blood and one tooth were found in the stomach of the deceased. Mr Harte was found with 67 external injuries.
The court has previously heard there was extensive blood spattered on the walls of the room where Mr Harte's body was found.
The inhalation of blood into the lungs and the severe trauma to the head, caused by repeated blows, was the cause of death, Dr Bolster said.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for just under three hours before Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness sent them to a hotel. They will return at 10.30 a.m. today to continue considering their verdict.