Convicted killer appears before Kildare court
IN CUSTODY
A man who was convicted for accidentally killing two separate people on two separate occasions appeared in Naas District Court on Thursday, December 1.
David Fortune O’ Leary, formerly of Rutland Grove in Crumlin, County Dublin, is currently serving a 12-year custodial sentence that was imposed on him last year stabbing his father, Gerry Fortune, to death in his home on August 19, 2018.
Previously, the 35-year-old had been jailed for eight years in 2006 after he fatally stabbed 31-year-old Michael Murphy outside the Buda Bar in Blanchardstown on Halloween night in 2004.
Appearing in Naas Courthouse last week, he was accused of seizing a vehicle without the consent of the owner at SuperValu in Kilcock on August 2, 2016.
On the day, it was noted by gardaí that information relating to the case against the defendant was incorrectly submitted back in July, but this had since been corrected.
Gardaí then asked sitting Judge Joanne Carroll to re-enter the case, and called the previous handling of information 'human error.'
Defending barrister Aisling Murphy said that she had concerns that her client would be prejudiced because of this mistake.
In response, the judge said to Ms Murphy: "To err is human; why should I not re-enter the case?"
Ms Murphy replied: “I accept that human error sometimes happens Judge, but there is a procedure here."
She also pointed out that the alleged offence goes back to 2016 — "one that will be going into 2023, and there is still no book of evidence ready," she said: "My client is unfairly prejudiced by the passage of time."
Judge Carroll said that while she understood Ms Murphy’s concerns, she ultimately decided that her client would not be prejudiced, and allowed the matter to be re-entered.
The judge remanded the accused in custody until December 15, to allow time for service of a book of evidence.