A man has been found guilty at the Central Criminal Court in Waterford of murder.
A jury last night found Anthony Barnes (20), Clonard Park, Ballybeg, Waterford city, guilty of the murder of Richard Forristal (68) at his home, Carrigavantry Stud, Co Waterford, on July 21st, 2005. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Shrieks could be heard from Barnes's friends and family in the gallery when the verdict was announced.
The trial lasting six days before Mr Justice Paul Carney was the first murder hearing in what were the first sittings of the Central Criminal Court in Waterford.
Barnes was found guilty of murder by a majority 11-1 verdict. He had pleaded guilty to trespass and burglary on the day Mr Forristal, a horsebreeder, was murdered.
Andrew Halligan (21), Ardmore Park, Waterford, pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to commit burglary on the same date, but claims to have had no part in the death of Mr Forristal.
Halligan, a father of one who has 150 previous convictions, was sentenced to seven years.
Mr Forristal's body was discovered shortly after he had returned from the funeral of Tara Whelan (17), who was killed in a terrorist attack in Turkey four days earlier.
Barnes claimed he was defending himself from a knife attack by Mr Forristal when he stabbed him in the chest a number of times. He said he was trapped in the bedroom after being chased there by Mr Forristal, who disturbed the burglary.
The prosecution had on Tuesday suggested that there may have been two people present during an attack.
Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, told the jury that marks inside Mr Forristal's bicep were "classically consistent" with him being gripped by another person. "Dead men tell no lies," he said, summing up the prosecution's case.
Regarding Barnes's admission of guilt on July 22nd at Waterford Garda station, he said he went only with the possibility of deflecting the murder charge.
Jeremy Maher SC, defending, urged the jury not to let its sympathy for Mr Forristal influence its decision. "Don't decide the case on the fact that he is an admitted burglar. You must look at the case like a surgeon - coldly."
He said the facts outlined by Barnes were consistent with what happened on the day of Mr Forristal's death. "We know the deceased was a big man who was as strong as an ox," he added. "He was a brave man who had been broken into four or five times."
Mr Maher suggested that Halligan might have been "confronted with a very frightening situation and got out off that window".
Stephen Lanigan O'Keeffe SC, defending, said Halligan pleaded guilty and handed himself in to the Garda, having committed the crime at what he understood to be an unoccupied house.
Mr Justice Carney said Halligan was entitled to credit for pleading guilty but that 150 previous convictions was an "extremely serious matter".
Commenting on the severity of the seven-year sentence, Mr Justice Carney said: "Past sentences have not deterred him in any fashion. Now, he's going to have to face the gravity of his crime."
He said Halligan "did not take advantage of moderate sentencing granted" previously.