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O'Riordan's girlfriend is deemed a hostile witness by judge
THE judge in the Aidan Myers' trial ruled that the girlfriend of killer Angelo O'Riordan was a hostile witness because of discrepancies in her live testimony and what she had told gardaí.
Jennifer McBride told garda in December 2007 that O'Riordan was upset, emotional and had "drink taken" when he arrived home in the early hours of December 13, 2006.
When Ms McBride gave evidence at the Central Criminal Court on Friday last (July 23, 2010) she told the jury that on the night in question, O'Riordan was upset over a number of things and he had said to her "bad things were always happening".
She told the court that O'Riordan had left their Dundalk apartment on the evening of December 12, 2006, accompanied by his brother and a friend.
When O'Riordan had failed to come home by 11pm, Ms McBride called his mobile phone several times but did not get through to him.
Ms McBride told the court that O'Riordan returned home after 1.30am, and became upset because she was annoyed with him for being out late when they had a young baby.
She said they fought, and he became upset over his brother who had died three weeks previously, and over his father whom he had "issues with". Ms McBride recalled that O'Riordan had said to her that "bad things were always happening".
However, senior counsel for the prosecution, Ms Pauline Walley, put it to Ms McBride that she had told garda that O'Riordan came home "very upset" and had drink taken and said "something bad had happened".
Ms Walley asked Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy to rule that Ms McBride was a hostile witness on Friday, July 23 and the judge agreed.
Before Ms Walley began her cross-examination of Ms McBride on Monday, July 26 O'Riordan's defence lawyer, Mr Pdraig Dwyer SC, told the jury his client had given him new instructions.
O'Riordan then stood and pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Myers. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting Gearoid O'Donnell. O'Riordan was remanded in custody to be sentenced on November 8.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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