A man has been found guilty of the murder of Gillian Curran in Waterford city last year.
Following a jury deliberation of 12 hours across three days, Marcus O’Neill (35) of 15 O’Brien Street, Waterford city, was convicted last Thursday 30 July on a majority 10-2 verdict of murdering his partner Ms. Curran at his home on 25 January 2025. He had denied her killing, and was on trial before Ms. Justice Caroline Biggs at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Waterford for the past three weeks.
Ms. Curran was found unresponsive by paramedics at 15 O’Brien Street on the morning of 25 January 2025, with Mr. O’Neill claiming that she had fallen a number of times the night before when they were drinking together at the house, and he found her on the ground of the living room when he woke up and came downstairs.
During the trial, he was represented by Roisin Lacey SC and Tom Giles Kelly BL, instructed by solicitor Derrick Connors. Conor O’Doherty SC and Niall Storan BL acted as prosecuting counsel on behalf of the state.
The jury of seven women and five men heard evidence from Gardaí who attended the scene, paramedics, neighbours of the accused who heard ‘aggressive’ shouting from the property and colleagues of Ms. Curran who noticed injuries to her throughout several months prior to her death.
Several expert witnesses also gave evidence, including Sandra McGrath of Forensic Science Ireland and Detective Garda Janette O’Neill, who both have expertise in blood pattern analysis, as well as State Pathologist Dr. Heidi Okkers.
Dr. Okkers told the jury that from conducting a post-mortem on Ms. Curran, she found her cause of death to be multiple blunt force trauma injuries to her head and abdomen, which were ‘most consistent’ with a ‘sustained’ assault.
The pathologist said Ms. Curran sustained 143 external injuries, such as bruises and abrasions, to her body, as well as several internal injuries such as a perforation of her small bowel and a laceration to her right kidney.
In the final week of the trial, Garda Lisa Courtney, who was one of the officers that undertook a search of the property following the incident, gave evidence to the court. She explained items that were found, including a shawl with blood stains in the sitting room, a variety of documents under the stairs including a receipt for a hotel booking in Kilkenny for Valentine’s Day 2025 in Ms. Curran’s name, as well Mr. O’Neill’s passport. Garda Courtney said the cupboard under the stairs was ‘quite untidy’ and added that she also found drug paraphernalia consistent with cannabis use there during the search.
NOVEMBER 2023 INCIDENT
Detective Garda Kevin Cleere gave evidence and detailed an encounter that he had with both Mr. O’Neill and Ms. Curran in November 2023, over a year prior to her death.
During the evening of 14 November 2023, Gardaí received a call at 7.00pm from a member of the public who witnessed a man ‘drag’ a woman on O’Connell Street, Waterford city. Det. Garda Cleere was one of the Garda members who attended the scene, and said when he arrived and spoke to Ms. Curran, she was ‘intoxicated’, had cuts to her knees, and her nose was ‘swelled’. She refused medical attention, Det. Garda Cleere said.
The Detective Garda then moved to Bridge Street, where he observed Mr. O’Neill standing on the footpath holding a baseball bat in an ‘aggressive’ manner, which he refused to put down after being asked to. Mr. O’Neill was then arrested by Gardaí, and told them he had dragged Ms. Curran down the road as he was in a ‘hurry’.
In his evidence, Det. Garda Cleere added that he spoke to Ms. Curran numerous times after this incident. She attended Waterford Garda Station on 2 December 2023 and made a statement to explain that she didn’t want to pursue the matter. “He never in his life dragged me or hit me, I was wearing high heeled boots and he was helping me” Ms. Curran said in the statement.
Marcus O’Neill, who was found guilty of the murder of Gillian Curran.
O’NEILL MAINTAINED INNOCENCE
Detective Sergeant Mick Bourke was the final witness to give evidence during the trial. Following Mr. O’Neill’s arrest on 25 January, he was tasked with interviewing him alongside Detective Garda Paul O’Flynn.
Mr. Storan read through transcripts of four interviews that were conducted with Mr. O’Neill across 25 and 26 January in Waterford Garda Station, with Det. Sgt. Bourke confirming what was said. In his first interview at 8.25pm, he consented for it to proceed without a solicitor, and told Gardaí he just wanted a “quiet life.” He also told Gardaí that he was on disability benefit, and had mental health and alcohol problems since he was a child.
O’Neill said that on the night of 24 January, he and Ms. Curran drank vodka and whiskey, with the deceased starting to ‘act weird’ after finishing a bottle of vodka. He told officers that the only argument they had that night was about going to the Credit Union, as he couldn’t go due to his friend arriving at the house.
“She fell at the kitchen table first, I tried to save her from falling but was losing power in my back, I was on the opposite side of the table, I tried to catch her but she fell fast,” O’Neill said in the interview. He additionally said he brought her upstairs to bed after she fell four different times, and when he woke up, he noticed blood on the bannister of the stairs, and that Ms. Curran was “destroyed with blood” when he found her in the living room that morning.
O’Neill further explained that he dressed Ms. Curran and cleaned up areas of the living room, as he “didn’t want to be looking at it. [the blood]” and “just wanted to get it done fast.” He told Det. Sgt. Bourke and Det. Garda O’Flynn that he “only knew she had passed away” when he was told by paramedics.
In the second interview on the morning of 26 January, Mr. O’Neill said: “I don’t want this to end up in the news articles.”
He continued to decline the offer of a solicitor, and he was asked why he did not call Gardaí or the emergency services when Ms. Curran firstly ‘fell’ on the 24 January. He told them he “didn’t want to be accused of assault and get false allegations” as he saw it happen with his own mother and father. “If you want to imprison me for false allegations, go ahead,” O’Neill told the officers.
When statements from his neighbours who heard aggressive shouting that night were put to him, he said they were ‘lying’. He continued: “No, I’m not guilty, I tried to help her and save her, you think what you want, I’m not responsible for her injuries. I never assaulted her once, nor would I towards a woman, my own mother went through it.”
It was also put to him during that interview that Ms. Curran’s injuries were ‘not consistent’ with his version of events, and he replied that he “wouldn’t say anymore” and just wanted to “curl up and die.”
O’Neill continued to maintain his version during the third interview, which was conducted later in the morning on 26 January. Det. Garda Matt Donnellan was present and showed him CCTV footage from the 24 January, which the jury had previously been shown. It showed him locking the door of his house and holding hands with Ms. Curran with his right hand. He previously told officers he injured it by punching a wall on Newgate Street two nights before Ms. Curran’s death, and said in the interview he “could still do stuff with it” despite his injury. He said “I did not punch her, but I did punch the wall.”
He declined the presence of a solicitor for a fourth time during his final interview, during the afternoon of 26 January. He was shown photos of blood on a skirting board in the property and he replied that it was there ‘ages’ when he “hit off” a cabinet.
Det. Sgt. Bourke told O’Neill that the results from a post-mortem examination carried out on Ms. Curran showed that her cause of death was blunt-force trauma injuries. He replied: “I did not assault her; there was no altercation. If anyone comes up to me and says I assaulted her, I will hurt them or myself, I’m not pleading guilty to something I didn’t do.”
O’Neill was formally arrested and charged with the murder of Ms. Curran at 6.06pm on Saturday 26 January.
Closing speeches were delivered to the jury on Friday 24 July, when the prosecution case was completed.
In his closing speech, Prosecuting barrister Conor O’Doherty SC said although Ms. Curran was not present to give evidence to the jury, the extent of her injuries “in some ways speaks for her.” He reiterated how the deceased was found to have sustained 143 separate external injuries along with several internal injuries.
Mr. O’Doherty added that the “sheer nature and scale” of the injuries she received could not be explained by falls, and the accused adopted a “self-serving narrative” to explain what had occurred. He told the jury that the case “shines a light into a dark corner” as Ms. Curran was “beaten and left to die a slow and painful death in a place she was meant to be safe.”
The prosecuting barrister stated that the injury to Mr. O’Neill’s right hand was ‘clearly’ consistent with the severe assault of his partner, and highlighted the finding of Dr. Okkers that the only other possibility for internal injuries sustained by Ms. Curran, such as the perforation of her small bowel, was a road traffic collision. “That is how badly beaten this lady was,” Mr. O’Doherty said.
He added that the November 2023 incident where Mr. O’Neill was holding a baseball bat in an aggressive manner pointed to a ‘concerning and troubling’ aspect of their relationship. Mr. O’Doherty additionally referred to the testimony of the deceased’s colleagues, who stated that Ms. Curran ‘idolised’ Mr. O’Neill. He said: “Maybe that was the hope of someone in an abusive relationship that maybe it will turn around, and the good will outweigh the bad.”
The barrister highlighted to the jury that it is the prosecution’s case that Mr. O’Neill ‘staged the scene’ when Ms. Curran had either already died or was dying, and his clean-up meant that certain areas could not be adequately examined. He said that the accused stating that he cleaned up due to his fear of Ms. Curran getting an infection “doesn’t stand up” as “you clean up a murder scene to cover up what you did.”
Defence counsel Roisin Lacey SC said in her closing remarks that it was a “difficult and painful” case, but told the jury they have to “undertake the greatest analysis” of the evidence without “sympathy or animosity.”
She added that Dr. Okkers had said a number of Ms. Curran’s injuries were ‘consistent’ or were ‘most likely’ caused by falls, and that at least eight of her recorded injuries “could have been caused by anything.”
Ms. Lacey said it is the defence’s case that Mr. O’Neill “neither killed Ms. Curran nor intended to kill or cause her serious harm.” She reiterated that the accused only witnessed the deceased fall four times, with anything else being “speculation on his part” as he was asleep, and only found her when he woke up the following morning.
The defence barrister told the jury that if they believe Mr. O’Neill ‘might have,’ ‘possibly,’ or ‘probably’ caused Ms. Curran’s injuries, that is ‘not enough’ to convict him of her murder.
JURY DELIVER MAJORITY VERDICT
Jury deliberations began on Tuesday 28 July after Ms. Justice Biggs delivered her charge the previous day. During their deliberations, the jury asked for several transcripts, including evidence from Gardaí, Dr. Okkers, as well as closing speeches made by Ms. Lacey and Mr. O’Doherty. The jury members additionally re-viewed CCTV and Garda body-worn camera footage that was used during the trial, and listened to a recording of a 999 call made by Mr. O’Neill on the morning of 25 January.
After the jury had deliberated for over 11 hours, they informed Ms. Justice Biggs that they could not come to a unanimous decision. The judge informed them that a majority verdict of 11-1 or 10-2 would be acceptable from that point onwards.
The jury returned shortly after this with a verdict of guilty, when they had been deliberating for a total of 12 hours.
Ms. Justice Biggs set a sentencing date for 12 October in Dublin, but indicated that this can be brought forward to September at the request of Ms. Curran’s family. The judge said a mandatory life sentence will be imposed on Mr. O’Neill, as he, in the verdict of the jury, “beat Ms. Curran to death, and that is the only option in terms of sentencing.”
Ms. Justice Biggs thanked the jury for the service in dealing with “incredibly dark material” throughout the case, and Gardaí for their work in bringing the matter to trial noting the “quality and quantity” of evidence that they presented.
STATEMENT FROM MS. CURRAN’S FAMILY
Following the verdict, Ms. Curran’s family said in a statement that Gillian did not deserve her ‘violent end.’
The statement read: “From the hundreds of heartfelt condolences we have received since her death, it is clear that Gillian was much loved by her friends and colleagues. Her siblings and extended family will never forget her, and miss her dearly. As a family, we did not deserve to be dragged through the awful details of her death because of the cowardly decision of her callous killer not to plead guilty”.
“We are very relieved that the jury has found the defendant guilty, and we thank them for their duty and commitment in this matter. We also thank profusely the Waterford Gardaí and the DPP who fought so hard for justice for Gillian. The Gardaí have been so kind to the family, and treated us with such respect and dignity throughout the process.
“The past 18 months and in particular the last month have been harrowing for our family, and we thank all who have supported us throughout this period; it is much appreciated. We are not the first family to have to confront the effects of domestic violence, and we encourage people to support the work of organisations such as Women’s Aid, who are doing a brilliant job highlighting the issue and providing such important services to combat this scourge on our society.
“We will always remember Gillian with love and are happy that Justice has been served,” the statement from Ms. Curran’s family concluded.
The late Gillian Curran.
WHAT THE JURY DIDN’T HEAR
As the trial has come to an end, legal arguments and elements of the case that the jury were not present for can now be reported.
A significant part of the trial was that the jury was almost discharged, after one of the defence barristers, Mr. Kelly, observed prison officers leading O’Neill into the custody area while the jury were leaving the courtroom for their lunch break at the start of the final week of the trial, stating that at least one member had looked over in the direction of where O’Neill was being led away by the prison officers.
The jury members were sitting on the opposite side of the room to where O’Neill was during the trial, but he was always brought in and out of the room before the jury entered.
Ms. Lacey made an application for the jury to be discharged on the basis that it was ‘unfair’ to her client for a member of the jury to have seen him being led away by prison officers, adding that it was a ‘last resort’. The defence barrister also raised concerns about the fact that one officer was in front of O’Neill with the other behind, as well as a chain with keys hanging from the pocket of one of the officers, which she believed could be interpreted as handcuffs from the distance where the jury were in the courtroom.
Ms. Justice Biggs asked Mr. O’Doherty to call any witnesses to the incident. Both prison officers who were involved gave evidence to the court, with one stating that they were ‘never told’ that they are not allowed to bring an accused person in and out of a courtroom with the jury present. The second officer said he “wasn’t really paying attention to the jury” as they were leading O’Neill out of the room.
Detective Sergeant Brian O’Callaghan also gave evidence and said that the incident was not witnessed by any Gardaí or representatives of the media who were present. Members of Ms. Curran’s family were also present in court at the time but were not asked if they saw the incident. Detective Garda Janette O’Neill, who was in the witness box before the court had broken for lunch, said that as she got up from the stand, O’Neill was right behind her as she turned her head, but she wasn’t aware of where the jury were at that point.
Mr. Kelly was called as a defence witness, and stated he noticed O’Neill being led away with one officer in front and behind him, not restrained in any way but that a male juror had looked across the room at that point. The barrister “couldn’t say” if the jury member was looking at the accused but that his own attention had been drawn from the ‘noise’ of the keys in one of the officer’s pockets.
Ms. Lacey told the court that as Mr. O’Neill was accused of a violent crime, the fact that jury members potentially saw him being taken into custody was ‘prejudicial.’ She added that the prison officer’s evidence of not being aware of what to do in front of a jury was ‘shocking’, however she said it was no ‘castigation’ against them.
Mr. O’Doherty said that there was ‘no suggestion’ that the members of the jury knew the door led to the custody area, and all they would have seen is O’Neill and the prison officers in the ‘general area’ of the door. He added that no force was used, and no one else noticed ‘jangling keys’ that were observed by Mr. Kelly.
Ms. Justice Biggs said that the officers use a fob to open the door, which does not have any sign to imply it is the custody area. Although Mr. Kelly’s attention was drawn to the keys jangling, he was sitting closer to Mr. O’Neill than the jury were, the judge said.
Ms. Justice Biggs added that “nothing suggests” the jury would have definitely known it to be a custody door. The judge ultimately decided not to discharge the jury as she said she ‘did not see’ the prejudice. However, she indicated for the Court Registrar to write to the prison governor to inform them that the officers had not been trained in what to do in front of a jury.
Ms. Lacey asked for Ms. Justice Biggs to remain on the bench until the jury had left the courtroom for the remainder of the trial to avoid a similar situation, which she consented to.
ITEMS RECOVERED FROM HOUSE
In another instance where the jury were out of the room, a legal argument took place over some of the items that were uncovered at 15 O’Brien Street by the search team, which included Garda Lisa Courtney. The court heard that a lock of hair was found under the Christmas tree, which Ms. Lacey objected to the jury being informed about. The barrister said this was ‘prejudicial’ as the court did not know whose hair it was, and “if it was important, a photograph would have been taken of it.”
Ms. Lacey also objected to the jury being told about the drug paraphernalia which was found that included grinders and pipes, as she indicated that this could create an ‘adverse’ view of Mr. O’Neill in their minds, and allow them to interpret it as ‘some kind of sale and supply operation’ that he was part of.
Ms. Justice Biggs said Mr. O’Neill had indicated he was a user of cannabis when speaking with Detective Garda Liam Harty, and added there was ‘some relevance’ to the paraphernalia being introduced, whether it ‘hurts or helps’ his case.
However, the judge said there was some risk of the jury “inferring too much” from being told it was ‘cannabis paraphernalia’ and instead directed for it to be referred to as “paraphernalia consistent with cannabis use,” adding that “drug misuse is not related to murder.”
Ms. Justice Biggs ruled for the lock of hair to be left out of evidence, but allowed for the drug paraphernalia to be shown.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme Robyn Power
