A Dublin man has been found not guilty of murdering his friend in a New Year's Eve fight, a jury in the Central Criminal Court has found.
The jury of 10 men and two women took just over five hours to find Karl Breen (27), with an address at Nangor Crescent, Clondalkin, not guilty of the murder of his friend, Martin McLaughlin (21), but guilty of manslaughter by a majority of 10 to two. Breen stabbed Mr McLaughlin three times, piercing his heart once, in the early hours of January 1st, 2006.
During the trial the court heard that Breen had been out celebrating New Year's Eve with Mr McLaughlin, their girlfriends and three other couples. They had checked into the Jurys Inn Hotel beside Croke Park and had dinner together, drinking five bottles of champagne before ordering taxis to take them to a nightclub.
At about 1am they all returned to the hotel and continued drinking in the residents' bar. At about 4am a number of them went up to the room Breen had booked with his girlfriend, Nicola Nugent.
A row broke out. The jury heard from Elaine Fagan, Mr McLaughlin's girlfriend, who said that Breen put his hand on her face and pushed her away when she was "in his face screaming at him" because he was having "a few words" with his girlfriend, Ms Nugent, was nine months pregnant at the time.
"I think I could have hit him or punched him or something and then him and Marty started fighting," she told Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting.
During the altercation Breen grabbed Ms Fagan's hair, sparking the fight with Mr McLaughlin. "He said to me, 'What are ya doing to me bird?' But before I had a chance to say anything, he hit me." Breen said after trading sloppy punches Mr McLaughlin head-butted him, busting his lip, and then pinned him on the bed.
He told the court Mr McLaughlin had him around the throat so he grabbed a flick knife that was lying beside the bed, brought there by another member of the group. During the fight that followed Mr McLaughlin was stabbed three times, in the arm, the back and the chest, puncturing his heart.
Breen went back into the room, changed out of the shirt he was wearing and left the hotel with the knife. He handed himself in to gardaí on January 3rd.
Mr McLaughlin died from his injuries in the Mater hospital on January 2nd.
Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins thanked the jury and Breen was remanded in custody. A date for sentencing will be decided next Wednesday.