Limerick man given life for murdering father-of-two for no known reason loses appeal

A LIMERICK man given life for murdering a father-of-two by slitting his throat in his living room for no known reason has had his conviction upheld on appeal. 

Gerard Manning, 38, of Upper Gerald Griffin Street in the city but originally from Belturbet in Cavan, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Martin Purcell between September 28 and 30, 2011.

He denied knowing Mr Purcell or ever having been in the 54-year-old’s home. However, his fingerprints were found in his victim’s blood at the murder scene, Mr Purcell’s apartment on Wickham Street in Limerick city.

The Central Criminal Court trial heard that Mr Purcell’s landlord found him dead in his home after it had been noticed that he hadn’t collected his post.

He had 41 wounds, which fractured numerous bones and injured his heart, lungs and several other organs.

The cut-throat injury to his throat severed his jugular vein, and post-mortem findings showed that he received this wound first, from behind, while sitting in a chair.

Manning’s left thumb print was found in Mr Purcell’s blood, both on that chair and on the hot tap in the kitchen. Two of his fingerprints were also found on a CD case under a coffee table at the scene.

A stereo belonging to the deceased was later found in Manning’s flat, while keys to Mr Purcell’s home were found in waste ground next to where the defendant lived.

A jury of seven men and five women found Manning guilty by a majority verdict of 11 to one after almost five hours deliberating. He was given the mandatory life sentence by Mr Justice Paul Carney on March 21, 2013. 

Manning moved to appeal his conviction on a number of grounds including a complaint over the failure to exclude evidence relating to a knife found on a flat-roof, that could only have been accessed from Manning’s bedroom window. 

His lawyers submitted that there was nothing forensically to link the knife to the deceased or the deceased’s apartment. 

Giving judgment this Thursday, Mr Justice John Edwards said the court had no hesitation in concluding that the trial judge was correct to allow the knife be admitted into evidence. 

Mr Justice Edwards said further grounds related to alleged non-disclosure and the admission into evidence of what Manning said to gardaí during his first garda interview, at a time when he wasn’t under arrest, were also dismissed. 

In conclusion, Mr Justice John Edwards, who sat with President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, said the court was satisfied that Manning's trial was satisfactory and his conviction safe. The appeal was therefore dismissed. 

Detective Garda Vincent Brick testified afterwards that Manning had 115 previous convictions including for firearms offences, possession of knives, domestic violence, endangerment and burglary.

“We have no motive,” he said. “To this day, we don’t know why Mr Purcell was targeted. He had never come to the attention of Gardaí. He was a simple man, who led a simple life.”