On Monday, Nicola Brennan admitted to unlawfully killing her former lover, Juris Viktorovs, in the Central Criminal Court, following the failure of her earlier murder trial due to a hung jury. The public prosecution director accepted Brennan’s plea for manslaughter over the death of Viktorovs at their shared residence in Shillelagh, Ballyconnell, Co Wicklow, which occurred on February 10, 2022.
Justice Paul McDermott postponed sentencing until October 7th after requesting prison governor and probation reports. Since June 2022, Brennan, 33 and homeless, has been held at the Dochas women’s prison. Despite the fact she declared her innocence in the face of murder charges last December, the month-long trial could not deliver a verdict.
In court, it was disclosed that Brennan was dating Viacestaus Narnickis and they lived together with the victim and his partner, Brenda Kane. During police questioning, Brennan admitted to a past involvement with Viktorovs, but refuted suggestions of jealousy over his relationship with Kane. The court was also informed that police deemed Narnickis innocent of any involvement in Viktorovs’ killing, thus no charges were laid against him.
The prosecution’s case hinged on witness testimony from Kane, who claimed to see Brennan attack Viktorovs with a knife, following an instance when Viktorovs was rolling a cigarette at Narnickis’ request. Kane alleged seeing Brennan launch an object across the room prior to entering it and assaulting Viktorovs.
In response, defence lawyer Colman Cody expressed doubts about the reliability of Kane’s account and pointed out perceived weaknesses in the prosecution’s narrative. He highlighted the heavy drinking and disorderly situation on the day of the event and asked if definitive conclusions could be drawn from the episode.
Justice McDermott, in his instructions to the jury after the evidence was given, explained the legal requirements for a murder charge – the prosecution must undoubtedly show that Brennan inflicted the lethal injury with an intention to murder or cause severe harm. If an illegitimate killing is committed but without the necessary intent, the person is guilty of manslaughter, not murder.