Frank Greaney
The jury in the trial of a young man accused of murdering a drunk fisherman who entered his home as a trespasser has begun its deliberations.
One of the issues for them to decide is whether Dean Kerrie, with an address in Portarlington, Co Laois, was acting in self-defence.
Jack Power, a 25-year-old fisherman, died from a single stab wound to the chest in the early hours of July 26th 2018.
It happened inside Dean Kerrie’s home in Dunmore East, Co Waterford.
Dean was 17 years old at the time. In his evidence, he told the jury he accidentally stabbed him while trying to get him to leave the house. He claimed he fell on the knife after losing his footing while trying to kick a kitchen knife out of his hands.
The prosecution claims he deliberately stabbed him after a scuffle inside the house.
The jurors will have to decide whether he was acting in self-defence.
With that in mind, they were told they have three possible verdicts open to them: not guilty, not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter or guilty of murder.
