The State has dropped an attempted murder charge against a 40-year-old man who was accused of twice stabbing his ex-partner of 18 years and chasing her with three different knives while threatening to kill her, after a second Central Criminal Court jury failed to reach a verdict.
It comes after the trial judge noted the difficulty in proving an attempted murder charge given the high standard required. Mr Justice Tony Hunt said on Wednesday that a "very limited type of intention" had to be proved in such cases.
In order to return a guilty verdict, the jury were told they had to be satisfied that there was an attempt to kill and that there was an intention to kill. A jury in a murder trial however, has to consider whether an accused intended to kill or cause serious injury.
The jury of eight men and four women had deliberated for seven hours over three days in the case of Philip Cox, who is originally from Tallaght in Dublin but has an address at York Street Flats in Dublin 2.
He had pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of his former partner, Cristal O’Brien, at the flat complex on December 1st, 2022.
Cox had pleaded guilty to assault causing harm, aggravated burglary and to the production of a knife during the course of the dispute.
Timothy O'Leary SC, for the State, told Mr Justice Hunt on Wednesday he had received directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions that a nolle prosequi was being entered against Cox, meaning that the State will not be proceeding with the charge of attempted murder against him.
Mr Justice Hunt said that terminated the matter of attempted murder, commenting it was "better done this way then adjourning it for another few months".
The judge said the court could proceed when appropriate to a sentence hearing on the three outstanding charges to which the defendant had already pleaded guilty to.
Mr O'Leary told the judge that the victim Ms O'Brien was "happy with that".
Mr Justice Hunt called this "reassuring", adding he was glad Ms O'Brien had received "the news in that way" as ultimately it was the director's decision.
The judge remarked that "everyone had to be realistic as two hard-working juries had a go at this". A jury failed to reach a verdict in the first trial last March.
Mr Justice Hunt listed the sentence hearing for January 20th and directed that a victim impact statement be prepared.
A governors’ report from Wheatfield Prison was sought for Cox by his defence counsel Eoghan Cole SC.
The judge remanded the defendant in custody on the remaining counts until that date.
When the 12 jurors returned to court on Tuesday after seven hours of deliberations and having failed to reach a verdict on which at least ten of them agreed, Mr Justice Hunt told them that "disagreements happen, they are part and parcel of outcomes here".
The judge said it was not really surprising as there is a high standard of proof required in attempted murder cases "that makes disagreement something that happens".
He went on to say to the jurors that this was a "highly contentious case" and "it is in practical terms" more difficult to prove attempted murder. "Thank God Ms O'Brien is hale and hearty.......if the outcome was otherwise it might have been easier to deliberate if it was murder," he remarked.
