Jury starts weighing evidence in trial over fatal attack on Cork postman

Jurors have begun deliberating in the case of two young men accused of murdering a postman in Doneraile, Co Cork.

Jury starts weighing evidence in trial over fatal attack on Cork postman

Panel members in a Cork courtroom have begun deciding the fate of two individuals standing trial for the killing of a local postal worker.

The presiding judge, Ms Justice Lankford, dismissed the group for the day after several hours of discussion. She stressed the importance of keeping all thoughts about the case private and avoiding any outside information. She called this phase of the legal process particularly sensitive.

In earlier times, jurors would have been housed in accommodation overnight to shield them from external contact. While this no longer happens, the judge emphasised that the principle of avoiding outside pressure is unchanged.

The twelve-person panel had a question soon after retiring. They wanted to watch footage of police interviews with the two accused to study their conduct. The judge refused, pointing out that both defendants had sat in the courtroom throughout the hearing, giving jurors ample chance to observe them directly. Written summaries of the interviews were already in evidence.

The group now numbers eleven after one participant was released due to personal circumstances. They must return unanimous decisions on each person accused.

Alex Deady, aged twenty and from Glenview in Doneraile, along with a teenager, have accepted responsibility for manslaughter but reject the more serious charge of murder. The court must decide if either or both are guilty of deliberately ending the life of Barry Daly, a forty-four-year-old postman attacked at his Rockview Terrace residence in October 2025.

A third young person, sixteen years old, previously admitted manslaughter, and prosecutors accepted that plea.

Source: Echo Live

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)