The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering a retired farmer in Co. Waterford will re-convene after failing to reach a verdict yesterday.
Ross Outram of Ferryland, Waterford Road, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary denies murdering 90-year-old Paddy Lyons at his home in Ballysaggart in February 2017.
He claims he was acting in self-defense and can’t be held liable for a fall which saw Mr. Lyons break his hip, if it was unconnected to the injuries inflicted by him while he claims he was fighting back.
The jury has four options open to them: guilty of murder, not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, not guilty of murder but guilty of assault causing harm or not guilty.
To convict of murder, they must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the fall and fracture of Mr. Lyons’ hip was either directly caused by the multiple blows inflicted on him or was reasonably foreseeable that it was a natural consequence of these blows.
