A JUDGE has told a jury he will be directing that they return a “not guilty” verdict on eight of the 25 charges of deception against a former Co Clare doctor.
On the 12th day of the trial of Paschal Carmody (60), Ballycuggeran, Killaloe, at Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Rory McCabe said yesterday there was insufficient evidence in relation to three of the six deceased cancer patients to put before them for decision.
They are the cases of Josephine Durkin, Beechgrove, Lucan, Co Dublin, Mary O’Connor originally from Mill Street, Cork, but later of the UK and Karen Kurvink, with an address in Holland.
The judge also directed that one charge relating to John Sheridan, Kells, Co Meath, be withdrawn from the jury.
Mr Carmody is charged with obtaining by deception €39,062 on the eight charges that the patients would be cured of cancer between September and March 2002.
Judge McCabe said the remaining 18 charges stood relating to deceased patients John Sheridan, Kells, Co Kilkenny, JJ Gallagher, Kingswood, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, and Conor O’Sullivan, Granite Lodge, Co Wexford. The sums involved total more than €40,000. Mr Carmody has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The judge told the jury of his ruling after legal argument at the end of the State’s case yesterday.
Mr Carmody entered the witness box and said the treatment he provided to cancer patients showed “a number of striking results, way beyond the laws of chance”. He denied the laser treatment he gave to patients was bogus and said he used it numerous times on his brother, Peter, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1992 but lived for another 14 years.
Mr Carmody said he was surprised at the results of the treatment as Peter’s own oncologist described him as his “miracle patient”. He was the only one of 28 of the oncologist’s patients to survive beyond three years with the particular illness.
Mr Carmody told the court that his brother was found to have multiple myelomas, which were highly malignant, in 1992. He said he moved to treat the cancer in a quite aggressive way through PDT, immunology and hypertherapy.
Mr Carmody told the court that two years ago, his brother believed he was clear after hospital tests and he stopped all treatments. He developed pancreatic cancer and he died soon after.
Mr Carmody said he never interfered in the hospital treatment of patients.
The trial continues today.