A 21-year-old man from Co Waterford has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for killing a local fisherman who entered his home in Dunmore East in July 2018.
Dean Kerrie, who moved to Portarlington, Co Laois, sometime afterwards, was cleared of his murder but found guilty of manslaughter following a retrial.
Dean Kerrie took the stand in his original trial. During his evidence, he told the jury he was 17yo when Jack Power kicked in the front door of his home.
He claimed Jack came at him in his brother’s room. He told them he grabbed him by the throat and was threatening to kill him.
He said he passed out and when he came to, he claimed Jack was attacking his mother. He said he grabbed a knife in an effort to scare him and claimed Jack was accidentally stabbed.
He didn’t take the stand for his retrial. The defence of self-defence was put forward and while the jury accepted he was acting in self-defence, the fact they convicted him of manslaughter would suggest they believed the force used was excessive.
He was handed a 4.5 year prison sentence today with the final 12 months suspended.
