Dublin dad found guilty of manslaughter after fatal stabbing of intruder

Eoin Reynolds

A father-of-four has been found guilty of manslaughter for killing an "intruder" who had stolen from the defendant's unlocked van and gotten into his partner's car in the early hours of the morning.

Members of the deceased man Jordan Ronan's family stood up and left the court when the jury delivered its verdict, finding Patrick Murphy (35) not guilty of the more serious offence of murder.

Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo remanded Murphy in custody until January 26th next year for a sentencing hearing.

Members of the Ronan family will be invited to make statements to the court on that date.

Murphy, of Drumcairn Parade in Tallaght, admitted stabbing 20-year-old Jordan Ronan, causing his death, but claimed he was acting in defence of his family and his property.

In his charge to the jury, Mr Justice Naidoo said they must consider whether the force used by the accused was justifiable. A manslaughter verdict was available on the basis that the defendant honestly believed the force he used was justified, but a reasonable person would see his use of the knife as excessive.

Mr Justice Naidoo also told the jury they could return a manslaughter verdict if Murphy was so provoked by Mr Ronan's actions that he suffered a sudden and total loss of self-control.

In her opening address, Patricia McLaughlin SC, prosecuting, told the jury of five women and seven men that Mr Ronan suffered a single fatal stab wound to the chest in the early hours of the morning on July 26th, 2024.

Mr Ronan had spent the earlier part of the night chatting with his friends, Rhys Murphy and John Green. Rhys Murphy told Ms McLaughlin that the deceased called to his house at about 2am and they sat in a car in the garden, "chilling and smoking weed" until about 3.15am.

Mr Ronan was in "good humour, he was always in good humour," the witness said, and he could tell he had been drinking earlier.

The second friend, John Green, said he offered to let Mr Ronan stay at his house so they got out of the car and started walking. He said Mr Ronan kept going into gardens along the route and walking up to cars so Mr Green "roared at him" and told him to follow.

The witness arrived home and waited, but Mr Ronan did not show up.

At the same time, David Conlon was smoking at the window of his home on Drumcairn Avenue while his wife Madeline lay beside him in bed.

He told Ms McLaughlin that he heard a “loud roar”, jumped up and saw “this lad running by the driveway” and looking back behind him before he ran into a pole and fell to the ground.

Mr Conlon told his wife what he had seen and noted that the man wasn't moving. When they went to the young man, they found him lying flat on his back with his eyes wide open. Madeline called 999, and Mr Conlon put his hand over Mr Ronan's mouth, but when he found no sign that he was breathing, he attempted CPR.

Firefighter Alexander Hudson said he cut Mr Ronan’s clothing to allow medical intervention. He noticed blood on Mr Ronan’s chest and a wound measuring one to two centimetres.

As he cut further, Mr Hudson said he found two pairs of pliers and cards concealed on Mr Ronan's body.

When Garda James Cullen arrived at the scene, he recognised Mr Ronan immediately. He told Ms McLaughlin that a fire brigade member handed him a Revolut card registered to Patrick Murphy, which had been found on the deceased.

Garda Cullen said he was not aware of any association between Murphy and Mr Ronan.

Later that morning, Garda Cullen went to Murphy's house to take a statement about the theft of his Revolut card. While taking the statement, Garda Cullen heard Murphy "mutter under his breath", saying: "This is a load of boll***s."

Garda Cullen said Murphy's leg was shaking and he seemed "slightly nervous". Murphy told Garda Cullen that he was going for a job interview that morning and said it was "ridiculous" that he was still up and that it felt like he had done something wrong. Murphy did not mention that he had stabbed Mr Ronan.

Ring doorbell footage

The jury viewed CCTV footage of the killing, which included footage from the Ring Doorbell attached to Murphy's home. It showed Mr Ronan walking up Murphy's driveway and getting into his van before getting into Murphy's partner's BMW.

The Ring doorbell footage showed Murphy opening his front door and sprinting down his driveway. The fatal encounter was finished within seconds and Murphy ran back to his house, where he made several attempts before successfully removing the door camera.

Gardai recovered the footage using Murphy's partner's phone.

It was accepted that a Revolut card found in Jordan Ronan's possession belonged to Mr Murphy and had been taken from the defendant's van, which was parked in his driveway.

Closing speeches

In her closing speech, Ms McLaughlin said the force used by Murphy was "disproportionate to anything Jordan Ronan had done".

She told the jury that Murphy armed himself with a knife, ran out of his house, opened the door of the car and deliberately stabbed Mr Ronan in the chest.

“He pushed the blade almost all the way in,” she said, noting the knife penetrated 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.

However, Ronan Kennedy SC, defending, told the jury: “Whatever you may think about Mr Murphy’s actions, he is not a murderer.”

He said Murphy and his family were at home “minding their own business” when their “peace, their security” was violated.

He noted the youngest of the couple's four young children was just a few months old at the time, and they were in the “sanctity of their own home”.

He said the interaction between Murphy and Mr Ronan lasted “no more than seconds”.

Counsel said Murphy acted in the way that he did “out of sheer panic in the heat of the moment” after his property was violated by an intruder.