Murder trial deliberations continue
Wednesday November 04 2009
The jury in the trial of a Derry-man accused of murdering a pregnant mother of four will deliberate for a second day.
Stephen Cahoon is making legal history as the first person to face a jury in the Republic for a non-terrorist related offence in Northern Ireland.
It is alleged he murdered his former girlfriend Jean Quigley at her Derry home last year. The 37-year-old defendant, from Harvey Street, Derry, admits killing Ms Quigley but denies murder.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy told a jury at Dublin's Central Criminal Court they must return a unanimous verdict. He said the accused could be found guilty of murder or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
After almost two and a half hours of deliberations on Wednesday they returned to the courtroom and asked for clarification on some matters of evidence. The judge ordered them to return to the court on Thursday morning.
Ms Quigley's naked bruised and battered body was discovered by her heartbroken mother Emma McBride on July 26 last year.
Cahoon claims he was provoked in to attacking his ex, who was two months pregnant with his baby, when she shouted at him that the baby was not his.
During the 11-day trial he told the jury of seven women and five men that he held her neck for around a minute, but did not intend to kill her.
After his arrest in Donegal, Mr Cahoon, of Harvey Street, Derry, opted to have his trial in the Republic instead of the north.
Under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act of 1976 suspects can be tried in the Republic for alleged offences in Britain or Northern Ireland.
Press Association
