A YOUNG Dublin man yesterday was found guilty of killing his friend during an argument in Irishtown last year.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court took four hours to reach a unanimous verdict, finding Mark Green (20), Tritonville Road, Sandymount, Dublin, not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Alan Young (19), George Reynolds House, Ringsend, at or near Bremen Road, Irishtown, Dublin on March 11th last year.
Mr Young was found near Irishtown sports stadium with a stab wound in his chest.
During the seven-day trial, the court heard that Green and Mr Young had been friends for most of their lives but that tensions developed between them over the weekend of the killing.
An altercation developed over a period which ultimately led to the stabbing.
Mr Young had received one stab wound to the left side of the chest. He died shortly after.
The court heard that Green approached gardaí shortly afterwards and told them that he was responsible for the stabbing.
A recording of interviews conducted between gardaí and Green at Donnybrook Garda station in the hours after the killing was shown to the jury.
Green was seen telling gardaí that he “didn’t mean it to happen”.
He said: “Sticking a blade into someone, I never thought I’d be capable of doing that.”
The video showed gardaí asking Green why he tried to attract their attention after the killing and Green telling them: “Because I knew I’d done something wrong and because I wouldn’t know how to live with it if I didn’t say anything.”
It was the case of the defence team that Mr Young’s death was the result of “two friends who fought over something stupid” and that it was a “tragedy but not a murder”.
Mr Justice Paul Carney remanded Green on bail until sentencing on June 3rd.
The judge said that he will also receive victim impact evidence on that day.