A 28-year old man has been acquitted of murdering another man at a house party in Crumlin.
Niall Magee, 21, died from a stab wound to his face following a violent altercation in the Cairn Walk area of the Co Antrim village in April 2019.
Michael McManus, from Archer Hill in Crumlin, was charged with murdering Mr Magee and a trial was due to start at Belfast Crown Court last week.
The hearing did not commence due to issues concerning a ‘principle witness’, and last Friday (May 21) a Crown prosecutor told trial judge Mrs Justice Keegan that after “further statements” were obtained from this witness, a decision was taken by the prosecution not to proceed with the case.
The trial was re-listed to start at Belfast Crown Court today, and after a jury of ten men and two women were sworn, prosecutor Suzanne Gallagher said: “I can indicate to the court that the prosecution are offering no evidence in this case.”
Following this admission, Mr McManus’s barrister Gavan Duffy QC asked that the jury return a ‘not guilty’ verdict on the charge of murdering Niall Magee.
Mrs Justice Keegan then directed the foreman of the jury to “find the defendant not guilty in this case”.
She thanked the jury, and after being told there was nothing pending against Mr McManus, Mrs Justice Keegan said: “The defendant is obviously free to leave and that concludes the case.”
Although no details surrounding the fatal stabbing emerged today, police were called to an address at Cairn Walk in the early hours of April 28, 2019.
When emergency services arrived at the scene they found both Mr Magee and Mr McManus slumped in the blood-stained hallway of the property suffering from stab wounds.
Whilst Mr McManus was treated for multiple injuries in hospital, the single stab wound to the father-of-one’s face proved to be fatal and Mr McManus was charged with murder.
At a previous court appearance when Mr McManus was formally charged with murdering Mr Magee, his barrister revealed that whilst he was not disputing causing the fatal wound, he denied the murder charge as he claimed he was acting in self-defence.
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