Youth convicted of fatal stabbing has brain surgery, court hears

A youth who fatally stabbed a 17-year-old more than three years ago has had his sentencing adjourned after he underwent brain surgery to treat ongoing epileptic fits.

At the Central Criminal Court, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said she will consider the issue of sentencing the teenager in October to give him time to recover.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Dovydas Jenkas (17) by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Castlebar in 2017.

Mr Jenkas of Mount Street, Claremorris, Co Mayo died from a single stab wound in the early hours of December 19th, 2015 in Claremorris.

Previously, the court heard the defendant stabbed Mr Jenkas after learning he was in a bedroom with the offender’s 14-year-old sister.

During a hearing last year Dr Timothy Counihan, a consultant neurologist at Galway University Hospital, told defence counsel Michael Bowman SC the defendant had been suffering from "multiple daily seizures of varying degrees of severity".

Outlining findings contained in a medical report, the doctor said that the defendant suffers from localised-related epilepsy, attributable to a brain lesion in the left temporal lobe, which has not responded to standard medical treatments. He has since undergone an anterior temporal lobectomy and is recovering from the operation.

Ms Justice Creedon said she understands the health grounds for the adjournment but added that she is anxious to deal with the matter as she must also consider the victim’s family.