Legal argument in the absence of the jury continued at the Central Criminal Court yesterday in the trial of a publican accused of the murders of his, wife and toddler in a fire.
It was the 25th day of the trial of Mr Francis McCann (36) who has denied the murders of his wife, Esther (36), and 18 month old baby, Jessica, at the family home at Butterfield Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin, on September 4th, 1992.
The jury has been told Jessica was a blood relative of the defendant, but not a child of his marriage to Esther. The prosecution has claimed Mr McCann arranged the fatal fire because he did not want to tell his wife why the Adoption Board had refused the couple's application to adopt Jessica.