The 79-year-old Dingle man who has been charged with manslaughter in the Isle of Man has had his trial deferred because a major prosecution witness is not available. The trial was due to start this week.
Mr Richard Benedict (Benny) Moore was charged with murder last October following the death of a woman with whom he had been drinking in a hotel on the island. That charge was later dropped and a charge of manslaughter substituted by the prosecution.
Mr Moore was initially held in prison for two months without bail, as bail is normally not granted to people charged with murder in the Isle of Man. However, he was then granted bail on condition that he remained on the island, lived in an approved hostel and met other bail conditions. He has been on the island since and his family has had to travel from Kerry to visit him.
Following a routine hearing last April at which the charge was altered, May 27th was set for the committal hearing. However, this was vacated at the request of the defence, who discovered new evidence that had not been disclosed by the prosecution, and needed time to study it. The date was then set for July 26th and 27th.
That date has now been deferred because the state pathologist is not available to give evidence. His evidence concerning the way in which the woman died is crucial to the case and is likely to be contested. No new date has been agreed and Mr Moore remains unable to leave the island.
Meanwhile his family, who all live in Co Kerry, have told The Irish Times that they are unhappy with the manner in which the Department of Foreign Affairs has been dealing with the case.
Following the initial coverage of the case in The Irish Times, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, met the family in Dingle, which he was visiting on other business, and assured them of his support and that of his department. "We're not sure what happened after that, if anything," said Ms Catherine Moore, Mr Moore's daughter-in-law. "We never heard.
"The communication [with the department\] is all one-sided. We are on the phone to them all the time. If I had to swear how many times the official rang me, rather than us ringing them, in the last nine months, the maximum would be three."
A spokeswoman for the department told The Irish Times that officials had written on several occasions to the Isle of Man authorities.
"We did so most recently following the last deferral of the case, asking that it be expedited on humanitarian grounds. We are in regular contact with the family and Mr Moore is receiving consular support," she said.