The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
A 40-year-old man has been convicted of murdering a Polish man in Ennis last year. Michael Maughan (40) of Stone Court, Ennis had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Piotr Nowakowski (31) at Sandfield Mews, Ennis on July 23, 2013. The Central Criminal Court was told the manslaughter plea was not acceptable to the prosecution and a jury was sworn in for the one-week trial. Maughan had also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Declan O’Dea at the same address on the same date. On this Friday afternoon, the jury of seven men and five women found him guilty on both counts by unanimous decision after two hours and 23 minutes. Mr Justice Paul Carney handed down the mandatory life sentence for the murder to run concurrently, with four years for the assault on Mr O’Dea. He backdated both sentences to July 24, 2013 for time spent in custody. Mr Nowakowski was stabbed twice and died …
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