Lawyers for an Irishman accused of stabbing his best friend to death entered a plea of not guilty today on the grounds he was mentally ill when he carried out the attack in Panama two years ago.
A Panama court appointed a jury for the trial of Mr Peter Byrne, 35, from Cork in Ireland, who has been held in a psychiatric hospital since his childhood friend, Mr Max Conroy, was stabbed to death at his Panama City apartment in July 1999.
The court was due to hear opening arguments on the first day of the supreme court trial in the capital late this evening.
Ms Edna Ramos, the defendant's lawyer said: "We are looking for a jury verdict to declare Peter innocent on grounds of insanity."
Ms Ramos said a panel of nine psychiatrists who examined Mr Byrne during the course of his detention, including five appointed by the state, determined he was suffering from acute paranoid psychosis at the time of the killing.
Defense lawyers expect the trial to last five or six working days.
Ms Ramos said if the court finds Mr Byrne innocent of murder charges he would be returned to Ireland completely free.
Should the court find Mr Byrne guilty, the defense would seek to have him returned to Ireland for psychiatric treatment, she added.