McIlveen murder convictions quashed on appeal

The Court of Appeal ruled that guilty verdicts returned against Aaron Wallace, Christopher Kerr and Jeff Lewis for murdering Michael McIlveen are unsafe due to flaws in how the jury was directed.

The Public Prosecution Service must now decide by Friday whether it is to seek a retrial.

Fifteen-year-old Michael McIlveen died after being chased and attacked by a crowd in Ballymena in May 2006.

He was beaten with a baseball bat and allegedly kicked as he lay defenceless in an alleyway.

Wallace, 23, formerly of Moat Road; Kerr, 25, from Carnduff Drive; and Lewis, 22, of Rossdale - all in Ballymena - were all convicted of his murder and given minimum jail terms ranging from 10 to 13 years.

A fourth man, Mervyn Wilson Moon, 23, of Douglas Terrace in the town, had admitted the killing at the start of the trial.

Lawyers for Wallace, Kerr and Lewis based their challenges on the guidance and directions the jury received during the trial judge’s summing up.

They claimed there was a failure to expose the possibility that an eye witness may have been lying about the three men’s alleged roles at the scene of the attack.

Kerr, who was the only defendant to give evidence at trial, accepted retrieving the murder weapon - a baseball bat - but denied using it.

He claimed he did not take part in the assault or encourage anyone else.

His barristers, Frank O’Donoghue QC and Sean Devine, argued that the trial judge failed to put a succinct, structured and impartial summary of his case to the jury.

They claimed the panel was wrongly invited not to rely on his evidence in any circumstances in the absence of supportive evidence.

Counsel for Lewis also contested the finding that he was guilty of murder as part of a joint enterprise.

Richard Weir QC argued that his client arrived at the scene separate from the others and knew nothing in advance about a baseball bat being acquired.

According to him the fatal attack was mistakenly portrayed to the jury as having been planned and carried out by a cohesive, single-minded unit.

Wallace’s legal team took issue with how bad character evidence against him was handled.

Delivering judgment on the appeals, Lord Justice Higgins set out how the prosecution accepted inappropriate directions were given on some of the points.

He said: “It was submitted that there were failings in the construction and sequence of the judge’s summing up and in the choice of language used to express the opposing arguments raised in the trial.

“Specifically it was submitted that the evidence of the principal witness was not analysed in depth, in particular with reference to the contrary evidence of the expert pathologist in relation to his findings about the nature and number of injuries sustained by the deceased and found during the post-mortem examination.”

Lord Justice Higgins, sitting with Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan and Lord Justice Coghlin, held that the cumulative effect of the points raised rendered all three men’s convictions unsafe.

“Accordingly we grant the applications for leave to appeal and allow the appeals against conviction.”

Following the verdict, Kerr clapped Wallace on the back before both men were returned to custody to await a decision on a possible retrial.

Lewis did not attend the three-day hearing due to illness.

Sir Declan confirmed that an eight-week slot beginning at the end of January was available if there is to be a fresh trial.

He added: “We would need to know by Friday what the Crown’s position is.”

A PSNI spokesman said later: “Police will study the appeal decision and consult with the Public Prosecution Service and the McIlveen family about options for a way forward