Alison O’Riordan
The jury in the trial of a fishmonger accused of murdering the mother of his child has been discharged and a new jury will be sworn in at the Central Criminal Court this afternoon.
Edmundas Dauksa (51), with an address at Castletown Road in Dundalk, Co Louth was on trial for the murder of Ingrida Maciokaite (31) at Bridgewater Mews, Linenhall Street, Dundalk, Co Louth on September 18th, 2018.
The Lithuanian national, who sold shellfish in the Dundalk area, had pleaded not guilty.
A jury of seven women and five men was sworn in last Monday and they heard evidence on Friday of last week.
However, Mr Justice Paul McDermott told the jurors this morning that a legal application had been made in their absence and as a result of that he had made a ruling to stop the trial.
Discharging the jury, Mr Justice McDermott said: "I'm sorry to say it's over. It's not something we like to happen and it disrupts the smooth administration of things, but sometimes it has to be done and in this case it is being done."
The judge thanked the jurors for their attendance and told them that he was excusing them from jury duty for five years.
A new jury will be sworn in for Mr Dauksa's trial at 2pm today.
