The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering a retired farmer in County Waterford has gone home for the evening without reaching a verdict.
Ross Outram of Ferryland, Waterford Road, Clonmel, County Tipperary denies murdering 90-year-old Paddy Lyons in February 2017.
Mr Lyons died from blunt force trauma to his body along with a traumatic brain injury and shock due to fractures of his hip joint, jawbone and ribs.
The jury heard Ross Outram told Gardaí that Mr Lyons hit him with a walking stick and shovel and that he fought back.
Mr Outram had injuries on his hands, thigh and head and claims he was acting in self defence.
He claims he can't be made liable for a fall which saw Mr Lyons break his hip if it was unconnected to the original injuries inflicted on him by Mr Outram.
The jury has four options open to them:
- Guilty of murder
- Not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter
- Not guilty of murder but guilty of assault causing harm
- Not guilty.
To convict of murder, they must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the fall and fracture of Mr Lyons’ hip was either directly caused by the multiple blows inflicted on him or was reasonably foreseeable that it was a natural consequence of these blows.
Reporting from Frank Greaney
