No verdict reached in murder case

A jury in the Central Criminal Court was last night sent to a hotel after failing to reach a verdict in a murder case

A jury in the Central Criminal Court was last night sent to a hotel after failing to reach a verdict in a murder case. The six men and six women were considering the fate of a Dublin civil servant accused of the murder of her husband.

Ms Dolores O'Neill (50), Coolamber Park, Knocklyon, , denies murdering Declan O'Neill (46), on or about July 22nd, 2002, at the family home. The jury had failed to reach a verdict after just over four hours of deliberations.

Charging the jurors earlier in the day, Mr Justice Carney instructed that they come back with a unanimous verdict of either "guilty of murder" or "not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter". They will resume their deliberations this morning.