Jury fails to reach verdict in tiger kidnap case

A jury has failed to reach a verdict in the retrial of two men previously convicted of carrying out a €2.28 million tiger kidnapping robbery.One of their co-accused, Jason Kavanagh, had been found guilty and another had been acquitted.

Dubliners Mark Farrelly (42) and Christopher Corcoran (66) were alleged to have been part of an armed gang which kidnapped the family of a Securicor worker during the robbery in March 2005.

The gang took Paul Richardson’s wife and their two teenage sons into the Dublin Mountains and held them there at gunpoint overnight. Other gang members held Mr Richardson at the family home until the next morning when he was told to go to work and deliver the cash to a drop off point.

Corcoran of Bayside Boulevard North, Sutton, Farrelly of Moatview Court, Priorswood, Coolock, Jason Kavanagh of Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown and Alan Costello of Cromcastle Road, Coolock denied the charges of falsely imprisoning the Richardsons at Ashcroft, Raheny on the night of March 13th and 14th and robbery of €2.28 million in cash from Paul Richardson and Securicor Security Services Ireland Ltd on March 14, 2005.

After deliberating at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for 18 and a half hours the jury today told Judge Martin Nolan that they were unable to reach a majority verdict on the charges against Farrelly and Corcoran.

On day 50 of the trial Judge Nolan discharged the jury of eight men and three women. He thanked them for their service and described the case as a “long and arduous” one.

He remanded both men on continuing bail to come before the court again on January 20th.

On Tuesday the jury unanimously acquitted Mr Costello of all charges, after deliberating for nearly ten hours.

They then asked to rehear DNA evidence that linked Kavanagh to a pillow case found in the family’s home. After another four hours of deliberations they returned guilty verdicts against Kavanagh.