A man accused of the murder of a Limerick father of eight pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
William O'Neill (28), of no fixed abode but previously of Garryowen, Co Limerick, had denied murdering Mr Sean Colbert outside his home at Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick, on or about August 9th, 1996.
However, after legal argument yesterday morning, the accused was rearraigned and pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.
He will be sentenced by Mr Justice Murphy today.
The plea was acceptable to the Director of Public Prosecutions and Mr Justice Murphy discharged the jury.
Earlier, the court was told Mr Colbert was shot twice in the back with a .22 calibre weapon and the motive for the shooting was "jealousy and revenge" for an affair he was alleged to be having with the accused's then girlfriend's father.
Mr Denis Vaughan-Buckley SC, for the prosecution, told the jury that on the night of the shooting two men were seen running from Mr Colbert's house moments after the fatal shots were fired.
He said the main issue in the case was not whether Mr Colbert was unlawfully killed, but whether O'Neill intended to kill him or cause him serious injury.
He said O'Neill had made a statement to Det Garda Patrick Cox at Roxboro Garda station, following his arrest in June, 1997, in which he admitted being at the scene of the shooting and saying: "I'm very sorry for that. He did not deserve to die. I felt awful for what happened. I did not want him to be killed".
Prof John Harbison, who conducted the post-mortem, concluded the cause of death was a haemothorax of the right lung caused by a bullet puncture wound, entering from behind.