Spanish jury finds McArdle guilty of wife's manslaughter

Michael Dermot McArdle faces a sentence of up to 4 years in jail after being found guilty of his wife’s manslaughter by a court in Malaga.

The jury of nine voted by a majority of 7 to 2 to convict the 39-year-old Dundalk father of causing the death of his wife Kelly-Anne Corcoran during a heated argument on the evening of February 11th 2000, the day the family arrived on holiday on the Costa del Sol.

After deliberating for more than one day, the jurors delivered their verdict shortly before lunchtime in Malaga Criminal Court, with members of both families present.

The jury found that, as the argument escalated, McArdle pushed his wife on the balcony of their hotel room, causing her to fall over the rails.

However, it did not believe that he intended to kill her and cleared him of the murder charge brought by a private prosecutor acting on behalf of the Corcoran family.

In a very detailed statement, in which reference was repeatedly made to the formal list of questions the judge issued to the jurors yesterday, the jury foreman explained that on the basis of the evidence submitted, the jury believed that McArdle “did not set out deliberately to kill his wife” and therefore it could no convict him of her murder.

However, it also rejected as “highly implausible” the defendant’s version that Kelly-Ann tripped and fell to her death in trying to prevent their son from leaning over the rail.

The jury was satisfied that the reconstruction of the fall by police and forensic experts had showed that she could not have fallen over the rail on her own as alleged by the defence.

In a brief statement, read on the courthouse steps following the verdict, Ms Corcoran’s family expressed its gratitude to authorities and police in both Spain and Ireland “for bringing Mr McArdle to justice”.

Spokesman Peter Moran, Kelly-Ann’s brother-in-law, said that there were “no winners in this terrible situation”.

McArdle left the court with his family after the judge turned down a prosecution request for him to be remanded in prison until sentence is passed in approximately 10 days.

© 2008 irishtimes.com