The court proceedings against a homeless man charged with the alleged murder of a retired man who had given him shelter have fallen apart in the Central Criminal Court due to discrepancies over witness testimonies. Brian Ibe, 23, refuted the accusations of killing Peter Kennedy, 65, confessing only to being responsible for his death, after Mr Kennedy had kindly offered Mr Ibe and his mother a place to live in his Kildare property until they managed to find their own place.
Mr Ibe, who previously resided in Moore Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare and was affiliated with the Peter McVerry Trust, Dublin 12, pleaded insanity as his defence for the murder charge that allegedly occurred in Newbridge between April 28th and May 12th, 2020. Ibe also denied a separate charge of assault inflicted on Garda Brendan O’Donnell in the Newbridge Police station, pleading insanity again on April 29th, 2020.
Justice Burns informed the jury that there was information of unexpected additional witnesses being produced by the defence. However, the prosecution contested this, saying they hadn’t been notified that these witnesses were to be summoned as expert witnesses. The court rules permit only expert witnesses to deliver their viewpoints in evidences, contrary to potential witnesses who can only give evidences based on factual information.
Judge Burns stated that the court was incapable of handling this situation for the following “few months”. He deemed it unjust to ask the jury to serve for the extended period given that they were made to listen to possibly unnerving and distressing evidences. He reminded them that their “contribution and active involvement” were instrumental to running the criminal justice system and thus, the jury of seven women and five men were released from their duties for the forthcoming five years.
The proceeding, originally slated to run for fortnight, will now be heard again at the Central Criminal Court the coming Wednesday.
The legal counsel for the prosecution, Fiona Murphy SC, opened the case by stating that there was no disagreement over the accused’s involvement in Mr Kennedy’s death. She emphasised that the jury’s task was to ascertain if Mr Ibe was suffering from mental illness to a degree that could support a plea of not guilty due to insanity.
The court in the next two days took note of evidence, which revealed that in 2019, Mr Kennedy had provided shelter to Mr Ibe and his mother, Martha, in his Newbridge, Co Kildare residence. Sadly, Mr Kennedy fell victim to a deadly attack by Mr Ibe in April 2020 and succumbed to his injuries a fortnight later.
The jury was told that the deceased, a retired probation officer, was commended as “an absolute gentleman” for his generosity towards homeless individuals by providing them accommodation. However, they were apprised that he had grown increasingly afraid of Mr Ibe.
The court was privy to information that the accused’s mother witnessed her son attacking Mr Kennedy, stabbing him in the back of the neck with a five-inch knife in his own abode, while the elderly man called for help. It was also brought to the jury’s attention that she saw her son issuing death threats to the elderly man.