Wayne O'Donoghue turned his head towards the wood-panelled floor and made the sign of the cross.
It was 4.24pm on the 10th day of his trial before the Central Criminal Court in Cork for the murder of his 11-year-old neighbour, Robert Holohan.
For most of the trial the 21-year- old engineering student had been a bleak and disconsolate figure, sitting tightly and barely lifting his head to see what was happening around him.
Just a few feet away sat Robert's parents, Mark and Majella, who would discreetly look at a small photo of their son from time to time, which his mother kept in her purse.
The court had heard over two weeks how hundreds of people had taken part in searches for the boy almost a year ago; how O'Donoghue had confessed to his manslaughter; how his defence argued that he panicked and tried to dispose of the body; and how the prosecution submitted that the student's versions of events were inaccurate and self-serving.
Now, as the jury filed into the courtroom, O'Donoghue hunched forwards, hands on his knees, and closed his eyes. When the moment came, and the verdict of manslaughter was read out, O'Donoghue turned his head skyward as relief washed over his face.
Mark and Majella Holohan, remained frozen and impassive.
At the back of the courtroom, O'Donoghue's mother, Therese, burst into tears and hugged her husband, Ray, who wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. Friends queued up to hug them and shake their hands as the Holohan family silently left the court.
O'Donoghue's girlfriend, Rebecca Dennehy (19), who had sat in court since giving evidence during the trial, sobbed quietly and embraced her father.
O'Donoghue, who will spend Christmas in prison, is due to be sentenced on January 24th in Ennis.
Outside the court there were reminders that this was a case which had devastated two sets of families and cast a long shadow over Midleton and the small community of Ballyedmond.
In a statement to reporters, O'Donoghue's solicitor Frank Buttimer emphasised that while his client was relieved, his thoughts were with the Holohans.
"It is to be acknowledged that this has been a very difficult year for Wayne O'Donoghue and his family. Their difficulty pales into insignificance compared to the difficulty and the sadness which has been suffered by the Holohan family over the same period of time," he said.
"Wayne O'Donoghue's thoughts, and the thoughts of his family, are with the Holohans, Mark and Majella, and their family at this point in time."