A Dublin man accused of the attempted murder of his former wife was found not guilty at the the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday Mr David McDaid (39), of Sillogue Avenue Ballymun, Dublin, was acquitted. The jury returned its verdict after just 44 minutes.
Before the jury were discharged yesterday, Mr Justice Carney said the "forensic investigations in the case was in the range of zilch to casual, closer to zilch".
Ms Dymphna Kiernan, formerly McDaid (35), had claimed that Mr McDaid attempted to murder her at her horse riding school at Surgalstown, Swords, on March 29th, 2000.
Ms Kiernan claimed that her former husband arrived at her riding school between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on a motorbike dressed in black leather gear, including a motorbike helmet, asked for directions to a Lees Cross nursing home and then proceeded to kick and punch her in the head before dragging her into a stables where it is alleged he tied baling twine around her neck.
The accused also denied assault causing serious harm and engaging in conduct causing a substantial risk of death. Mr McDaid was yesterday found not guilty of all three charges.
Mr McDaid and his mother, Joan, and sister Ms Natasha Clare yesterday hugged each other with relief outside the court.
Mr Hugh Hartnett, SC, in his closing speech for the defence said there were glaring inconsistencies in the case against Mr McDaid.
"Surely there should have been an appropriate forensic examination. Science doesn't lie and rarely makes mistakes," he told the jury of four women and eight men yesterday.
Det Insp Guss Keane had told the jury during the five-day trial that no forensics were taken at the scene of the crime.
Mr Hartnett said that the core of this investigation was the question of identification. He said counsel for the prosection contended that Ms Kiernan identified her husband as the attacker through the visor of his motorcycle helmet.
"Then you heard evidence that the motorcyclist's visor was up; she said this is how she recognised this man. Counsel for the prosecution opened the case to say that the visor was down at the time of the attack."
Another inconsistency, Mr Hartnett said, was that Ms Kiernan said in her first statement to gardaí that her attacker took off his helmet during the attack in the stables but "when the witness was asked, she said the helmet was never taken off".
Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin, SC, prosecution counsel, in his closing speech to the jury, said that the intention of the accused was to "strangle her to death".
He told the jury members before they were sent out to make their verdict that "a rope was tied around her neck, she was dragged across and lifted up, this creates a substantial risk to death".
"I suggest to you that Diane Garvey gave evidence that a dark motorcycle called on two occasions before the attack and on one occasion the motorcyclist asked for directions to Lees Cross nursing home," Mr O'Loughlin said. "Logically that motorcycle was the same motorcycle that came to the stables and attacked Mrs McDaid."