Jordan Ronan’s family members stood up and left the courtroom when the jury delivered its verdict in the case of Patrick Murphy who was found guilty of manslaughter
A father-of-four has been convicted of manslaughter after killing an “intruder” who had pilfered from his unlocked van and entered his partner’s car.
Family members of the deceased, Jordan Ronan, abruptly left the courtroom as the jury announced its verdict, acquitting Patrick Murphy, 35 of the more severe charge of murder. One man hurled insults at Murphy, shouting: “Smelly b*****. A 20-year-old boy, he was half your age.”
Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo apologised to the jury before remanding Murphy into custody until a sentencing hearing January 26 next year. The Ronan family will be invited to give statements to the court on that date.
Murphy, from Drumcairn Parade in Tallaght, admitted stabbing 20-year-old Jordan Ronan, resulting in his death, but maintained he was defending his family and property, reports the Irish Mirror.
In his instructions to the jury, Mr Justice Naidoo stated they must contemplate whether the force exerted by the accused was justifiable. A manslaughter verdict was possible if the defendant genuinely believed the force he used was justified, but a reasonable person would deem his use of the knife excessive.
Mr Justice Naidoo also informed the jury they could return a manslaughter verdict if Murphy was so incensed by Mr Ronan’s actions that he experienced a sudden and complete loss of self-control.
In her opening statement, Patricia McLaughlin SC, prosecuting, informed the jury of five women and seven men that Mr Ronan had succumbed to a single fatal stab wound to the chest in the early hours of July 26, 2024.
Earlier in the evening, Mr Ronan had been socialising with friends, Rhys Murphy and John Green where they spent time “chilling and smoking weed” until roughly 3.15am.
Mr Ronan was in “good humour, he was always in good humour,” the witness noted, adding that it was evident he’d had a few drinks earlier on.
John Green, the second friend, offered Mr Ronan a place to stay for the night, so they began walking. Mr Green recounted how Mr Ronan kept veering off into gardens along their route and approaching cars, prompting him to “roar at him” and instruct him to follow.
Mr Green arrived home and waited, but Mr Ronan never turned up.
Simultaneously, David Conlon was smoking by the window of his Drumcairn Avenue home while his wife Madeline was in bed next to him. He reported to Ms McLaughlin that he heard a “loud roar”, sprang up and spotted “this lad running by the driveway”, glancing back as he ran into a pole and collapsed to the ground.
Mr Conlon informed his wife about what he’d witnessed and observed that the man remained motionless. Upon approaching the young man, they discovered him sprawled on his back with his eyes staring wide.
Madeline dialled 999 whilst Mr Conlon placed his hand over Mr Ronan’s mouth, but detecting no signs of breathing, he began CPR.
Firefighter Alexander Hudson explained he cut through Mr Ronan’s clothes to enable medical treatment. He spotted blood across Mr Ronan’s chest and a wound measuring one to two centimetres.
Mr Hudson revealed he discovered two pairs of pliers and cards hidden on Mr Ronan’s person.
Upon Gda James Cullen’s arrival at the scene, he immediately recognised Mr Ronan. He informed Ms McLaughlin that a fire brigade member had passed him a Revolut card registered to Patrick Murphy, which had been discovered on the deceased.
Gda Cullen stated he was unaware of any connection between Murphy and Mr Ronan.
Later that morning, Gda Cullen visited Murphy’s residence to obtain a statement regarding the theft of his Revolut card. Whilst recording the statement, Gda Cullen overheard Murphy “mutter under his breath”, saying: “This is a load of b******.”
Gda Cullen reported that Murphy’s leg was trembling and he appeared “slightly nervous”. Murphy informed Gda Cullen that he had a job interview that morning and described it as “ridiculous” that he was still awake, saying it felt as though he had committed some wrongdoing.
Murphy failed to mention that he had stabbed Mr Ronan. The jury examined CCTV footage of the fatal incident, including clips from the Ring Doorbell fitted to Murphy’s property.
It captured Mr Ronan approaching Murphy’s driveway and climbing into his van before moving to Murphy’s partner’s BMW. The Ring doorbell recording revealed Murphy bursting through his front door and racing down his driveway.
The deadly confrontation was over within moments and Murphy dashed back to his house, where he made multiple attempts before successfully dismantling the door camera.
Gardaí retrieved the footage using Murphy’s partner’s mobile phone.
It was acknowledged that a Revolut card discovered in Jordan Ronan’s possession belonged to Mr Murphy and had been snatched from the defendant’s van, which was stationed in his driveway.
During her closing argument, Ms McLaughlin argued the force employed by Murphy was “disproportionate to anything Jordan Ronan had done”.
She informed the jury that Murphy equipped himself with a knife, charged out of his house, yanked open the car door and intentionally plunged the blade into Mr Ronan’s chest.
“He pushed the blade almost all the way in,” she stated, highlighting the knife pierced the chest cavity, lung, heart and liver to a depth of 18cm.
“I say that is clearly murder. How could it be anything else to stab a boy in the chest and to do it deliberately, how could you intend anything other than serious injury?” she said.
Nevertheless, Ronan Kennedy SC, defending, told the jury: “Whatever you may think about Mr Murphy’s actions, he is not a murderer.”
He stated that Murphy and his family were at home “minding their own business” when their “peace, their security” was disrupted.
He highlighted that the youngest of the couple’s four children was only a few months old at the time and they were in the “sanctity of their own home”.
He mentioned that the encounter between Murphy and Mr Ronan lasted “no more than seconds”.
The counsel argued that Murphy reacted as he did “out of sheer panic in the heat of the moment” after an intruder breached his property.