Elderly man held in custody over fatal stabbing of wife in Laois home
A 72-year-old Romanian national faces murder charges after his spouse was found dead at their house in Portlaoise. A district judge condemned the lack of legal representation during police questioning.
Elderly man held in custody over fatal stabbing of wife in Laois home
A pensioner has been accused of killing his partner at their dwelling in the Midlands town of Portlaoise.
Eugen Constantin, aged 72, stood before a local magistrate on Tuesday morning facing allegations that he ended the life of Adina Raluca Constantin, 50, at the couple's Church Street address during the weekend.
A senior officer from the local garda station told the bench that when the pensioner was read his rights, he indicated comprehension. Because English is not his first language, a translator fluent in Romanian has been arranged for all future hearings.
His legal representative, Philip Meagher, explained that the charge is too serious for bail to be granted at this level, so they will petition the superior court later. Meagher also disclosed that his client pays privately for counsel and is therefore not caught up in the nationwide row over publicly funded defence payments.
The solicitor asked that medication prescribed for the accused's ongoing illness be sent with him to the remand centre, and that a doctor examine him urgently since he had already spent forty-eight hours behind bars without treatment.
When the magistrate, Andrew Cody, asked whether the detainee had spoken with any lawyer while at the station, the officer replied that dozens of calls were placed to try to find duty counsel, yet none could attend or even speak with Constantin remotely.
Cody then read aloud a public pledge by the national body for solicitors, which declares that every individual deserves competent counsel regardless of circumstances. He called the profession's conduct in this instance shameful, stressing that an elderly foreign national battling cancer is precisely the kind of vulnerable person the system is meant to protect.
The defendant was ordered to remain in Cloverhill Prison and will next appear via video-link on 17 July.
Source: The Irish Times
Source: Irish Times