Belfast Telegraph

Sunday 16 March 2014

Charlotte Mulhall begins murder conviction appeal

Lawyers for Dublin woman Charlotte Mulhall, who was jailed for life for murdering her mother's Kenyan boyfriend, have kick-started their legal challenge to her conviction.

They are arguing that the trial judge effectively put pressure on the jury in the case to reach a verdict even though the jury foreman had indicated they were deadlocked.

The 25-year-old mother-of-one, of Kilclare Gardens in Tallaght, was convicted in October 2006 of murdering Farah Swaleh Noor in March 2005.

Her sister, 33-year-old mother-of-four Linda Mulhall, was convicted of his manslaughter.

Senior counsel Brendan Grehan, who also represents Charlotte's sister Linda, told the court that, having deliberated for almost 15 hours, the jury came back on the Friday evening saying they could not reach the majority verdict where at least 10 were agreed.

He said Mr Justice Carney told them that five children had a vital interest in this case and he was anxious that a conclusion be reached.

Mr Grehan said the judge effectively told them that their deadlocked position was not acceptable and put pressure on them to reach a verdict.

The jury returned a verdict of murder in Charlotte's case the following afternoon and Mr Grehan claims it is possible the jurors who were deadlocked changed their minds after the judge's comments the night before.

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