A judge has told the jury in the trial of an Ennis man accused of murder, that alcohol is not a defence to criminal responsibility. The jury is expected to begin its deliberations on this Friday in the case of Michael Maughan (40) of Stone Court, Ennis, who has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Piotr Nowakowski (31) at Sandfield Mews, Ennis on July 23, 2013. Last week, the Central Criminal Court was told the manslaughter plea was not acceptable to the prosecution and a jury was sworn in for the week-long murder trial. Mr Nowakowski was stabbed twice and died in an ambulance on the way to Shannon Airport where he was to be airlifted to hospital in Cork. The court heard that the accused and his brother had been drinking with the deceased and two other men in an apartment in the Sandfield complex earlier that day and returned there later that night. …
Read More »Murder accused: ‘my brain just flicked’
The continuing trial of man who admits killing a Polish man in Ennis last year but denies murdering him, has heard that the accused “would be known to drink a lot.” Michael Maughan (40) of Stone Court, Ennis has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Piotr Nowakowski (31) at Sandfield Mews, Ennis on July 23, 2013. Last week the Central Criminal Court was told the manslaughter plea was not acceptable to the prosecution and a jury was sworn in for the murder trial. The accused has also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Declan O’Dea at the same address on the same date. On Wednesday, Detective Garda Brendan Rouine told the court that when he went to the incident at Sandfield Mews he saw a man being treated by paramedics on the ground and said he had two stab wounds to his chest. He told Roisin Lacey BL, prosecuting, he also saw Mr O’Dea outside on …
Read More »