The jury has retired in the trial of a County Galway man accused of the rape and murder of a schoolgirl in December 1998. At the Central Criminal Court, the 27-year-old Galway man denied the murder of the 17-year-old at a Galway beach on 6 December 1998. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also denied a charge of rape with an object.
The jury retired at 12.45pm following Mr Justice Smith's review of the evidence. Before being sent to the jury room, the judge advised the jurors that if the evidence of a defence witness, who said that she saw the deceased in the village at about 1.45am on the night of the attack, might be true, then the accused could not have committed the crime and he must be acquitted.
