Jury fails to reach verdict on aggravated burglary charge

A JURY has failed to reach a verdict in the trial of an Athlone man who was charged with aggravated burglary. Brian McGinley (37), from Blackberry Lane, Athlone, Co Westmeath, had denied the charge at the home of Damien and Rachel Kilmartin at Ladyswell, Glasson, Athlone, on February 13, 2005. Mullingar Circuit Court, sitting in Tullamore, heard, during an eight-day trial that €8,000 in cash and over €100,000 worth of jewellery was taken in the raid, in which Mr and Mrs Kilmartin, their three children, the children's cousin Rebekka Duffy, and Mr Kilmartin's father Tony, were held hostage. Brian McGinley denied being one of the men. The state claimed the men made an unsuccessful attempt to load a safe into Mr Kilmartin's BMW 645 coupe before departing with the safe in a BMW jeep belonging to Mrs Kilmartin. The state argued, through Mr John Hayden, prosecuting counsel, that blood discovered on the boot of the BMW coupe was later matched to a hair sample provided by Mr McGinley. On Wednesday, he said that while the primary evidence was DNA, there was also circumstantial evidence from Garda witnesses. Mr Colman Fitzgerald, defending, said that the onus was on the prosecution to prove the case. He told jurors they must be satisfied "beyond reasonable doubt" before convicting. There was "not a shred of evidence" that anything found on the boot of Mr Kilmartin's car had anything to do with the raiders. Regarding the scientific evidence, he said that "If someone with a PhD says something, we assume that person is correct" but that was not the case. He also said that tests had not proved that the substance found on the car was blood. "This case rests entirely on circumstantial evidence," said Mr Fitzgerald. On Thursday, Judge Michael White summed up the evidence for the jury and said that under no circumstances should expert opinion be regarded as infallible. At 5 pm on Friday last, the jury of eight men and four women informed Judge Michael White that they had failed to reach agreement and were deadlocked. The judge thanked them for their service and exempted them from jury service for the next ten years.