A woman who denies murdering her former lover broke down in tears on Monday afternoon when a jury failed to agree a verdict following her month-long trial at the Central Criminal Court.
The jury of eight men and four women had spent seven hours and 33 minutes considering their verdict in the trial of Nicola Brennan, who stood trial accused of murdering Juris Viktorovs by stabbing him once in the chest. On Monday afternoon, Mr Justice Paul McDermott told the jury that he would accept a majority verdict if at least 10 of them agreed. A short time later the jury returned, saying there was no possibility of a verdict being reached.
Ms Brennan audibly sobbed in the dock while Mr Justice McDermott thanked the jurors for their efforts and exempted them from further service for 10 years. The judge then remanded Ms Brennan in custody until January 24th when a date will be set for a new trial.
Ms Brennan (33), of no fixed abode, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of her housemate, Latvian native Juris Viktorovs (36), at Shillelagh, Ballyconnell, Co Wicklow, on February 10th, 2022. The trial has previously heard that the accused was going out with Viacestaus Narnickis, referred to in the trial as “Young Slavik”, and was living in the same house as the deceased and his girlfriend Brenda Kane in Ballyconnell.
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The jury was told that gardaí were satisfied Mr Narnickis wasn’t involved in the stabbing and no charges were brought against him.
Ms Brennan told gardai that she previously had a “fling” with Juris but denied that he died after “a fit of jealousy and rage”. She first told gardai that Young Slavik carried out the attack, before later saying it was “maybe” Mr Viktorovs’ partner, Brenda Kane, who had stabbed him. She denied being jealous of Ms Kane being with Mr Viktorovs.
The prosecution relied on the eye-witness evidence of Ms Kane who said that she was asleep in bed when Young Slavik entered the room and asked Mr Viktorovs to roll him a cigarette. As Mr Viktorovs rolled the cigarette, Ms Kane said she saw Ms Brennan throw something across the room before coming into the room where she “put the knife into” Mr Viktorovs.
Defence counsel Colman Cody SC said Ms Kane’s evidence was inconsistent and unreliable. He pointed out that over the course of three interviews with gardaí, Ms Kane did not mention seeing Ms Brennan stabbing Mr Viktorovs. During an “enhanced cognitive interview” with specialist interviewer Det Inspector Peter Woods nine days after the stabbing, Ms Kane said that she saw Ms Brennan inflict the fatal wound.
The prosecution also relied on what it alleged were lies told by Ms Brennan to cover her guilt. Fiona Murphy, SC, in her closing speech for the prosecution, said the independent forensic evidence, including the deceased’s blood on the cuff of Ms Brennan’s pyjama top, supports Ms Kane’s version of events.
Mr Cody went through the forensic evidence and suggested the jury create a “checklist of the various grounds advanced”.
He added: “When you drill down into the foundations of the prosecution case and carry out that forensic exercise that you must do, I would suggest that the cracks begin to become very visible in their case.”
Mr Cody asked the jury if they can “really know or be sure as to what in fact transpired in that bedroom in the moments leading up to the tragic and untimely death of Mr Viktorovs?”
Given the level of intoxication of all present and the “chaotic” circumstances, he asked the jury if they could draw conclusions with certainty. “I say you have not been put in that position and I say to you the appropriate and proper verdict is a finding of not guilty of the murder of Juris Viktorovs.”
Mr Justice McDermott said a finding of murder requires that the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms Brennan inflicted the fatal wound and at the time she intended to kill or cause serious harm. A person who commits an unlawful killing but without the necessary intent is guilty of manslaughter, not murder, he said. If the prosecution had failed to prove that Ms Brennan inflicted the fatal injury, he told them they must acquit.
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