Waterford man found guilty of murdering Cork Prison inmate

Brian Veale had pleaded not guilty to murdering Graham Johnson in prison kitchen

A Central Criminal Court jury has found a Waterford man guilty of murdering a fellow Cork Prison inmate following an argument over switching television channels.

Brian Veale (31) of Dominic Street, Cork had pleaded not guilty to murdering Graham Johnson at Cork Prison, Rathmore Road in Cork City on May 16th, 2015.

On Wednesday, a jury of seven men and five women found Veale guiltyby unanimous verdict of murdering Mr Johnson in Cork Prison kitchen.

They had deliberated for one hour and 56 minutes.

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Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy thanked the jury for their time and exempted them from jury service for a period of 15 years.

“Thank you for your care and attention throughout the trial. It was very apparent you concentrated hard on the evidence,” she said.

The court adjourned sentencing until November 7th.

Ms Justice Kennedy remanded Veale in custody until that date when a victim impact statement will be before the court.

The four-day trial heard that Veale stabbed Mr Johnson in the kitchen of Cork Prison after an argument over switching television channels.

Both men were inmates at Cork Prison and they knew each other.

The verbal altercation between the two men took place at around 3pm on May 16th and then finished but sometime after 5pm that same day Veale came across the kitchen with a knife and stabbed the deceased in the chest area.

State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy gave evidence in the trial and told the jury that Mr Johnson died from a single stab wound to the front of the chest.