Man found not guilty of murdering his father at their Waterford home

A man has been found not guilty of murdering his father at their home in Co Waterford.

The jury of eight women and four men accepted Stephen Butler's defence that while he had "repeatedly punched" John Butler (48), he did not mean to cause him harm when they got into a row after a visit to their local pub on January 11th, 2020.

Stephen Butler (23) had pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, and the jury returned this verdict.

The father and son, who had been drinking earlier at the Clodagh Bar across the road from their home in the village of Portlaw, had been "taking sly digs" at each other according to other pub goers. The two wound up in a row at the house's entrance, where John Butler pushed Stephen Butler outside and attempted to close the door on him.

The younger man forced his way in and the two exchanged punches, with the younger man dealing several to his father as the door opened.

The Central Criminal Court trial, which lasted for eight days, heard that the resulting death of John Butler was an "enormous tragedy" for the family.

The older man was found inside the hallway of his house at Brown Street, Portlaw. Attempts to resuscitate him by onlookers were unsuccessful.

Speaking after the verdict, John Butler’s daughter Katilyn said she wanted her father to be remembered as a man who “everybody in the community loved”.

John Butler was later pronounced dead at University Hospital Waterford. He was originally from Carrick-on-Suir in Co Tipperary but had been working and living in Portlaw for a number of years, where he worked in the Dr Martin Day Centre and was a member of the local men's shed.

“I don’t want how he died or anything like that to be [how he’s] remembered,” Ms Butler said.

“I just want people to have love and respect for my dad as they would have beforehand,” the 19-year-old added.

“He loved his life. He had his dogs, he betted and enjoyed his pints on the weekend. It was a simple life but he loved it and I want people to remember that.

‘First hug’

While Stephen and Katilyn Butler had "minimal contact" prior to the trial, this changed once it got under way.

Ms Butler said she was “very angry at my brother”, which she accepts were her “own personal feelings from losing my dad so I took my anger out on him”.

“I knew he didn’t deserve to be there, so from then on I’d decide every now and then to go up and see how he was doing, and I gave him a hug – the first hug in a long time.”

The court heard that there was a “fraught, complicated and difficult” relationship between the father and son, with references to claims of domestic violence made by Stephen Butler between his now separated parents in his interviews with gardaí­.

The son had been living between Portlaw and his mother Liza Kelly's home at Shielbaggin, Ramsgrange, New Ross, Co Wexford, at the time of the altercation.

State prosecutor Michael Delaney SC said Butler had “repeatedly punched his father”, striking him in both sides of the head, causing fractures to his father’s soft ear and nasal bones before he was pronounced dead by medical personnel.

No weapon

Defence barrister Colman Cody said Stephen Butler had been provoked by his father, who had locked him outside their home on a "wet and miserable winter's night" and told him during their row: "You're no son of mine."

He said the accused’s prevailing attitude was one of “sorrow” throughout several hours’ worth of interviews with investigating gardaí, and added that no weapon was used during the attack.

Following a lengthy deliberation without success, the judge said he would accept a majority verdict, with 10 jurors then finding in favour of such a verdict. Justice Burns directed the preparation of a probation service report and governor’s report ahead of the sentencing, which is due to take place in Dublin on December 13th.