Wicklow farmer wins appeal against murder conviction

on 16/10/2012 11:24:46

A Wicklow farmer with Parkinson's Syndrome has today won an appeal against his conviction for murdering his older brother in an argument over their mother's burial wishes.

Cecil Tomkins (aged 63) of New Lodge Nursing Home, Stocking Lane, Rathfarnham in Dublin will now face a retrial over the shooting of 66-year-old Walter Tomkins at the Cronlea, Shillelagh on July 1, 2010.

Cecil Tomkins said he shot his brother Walter for not following their mother Bella's wishes to be buried in Gorey.

The defence argued on appeal that the jury murder conviction was perverse given the 63-year-old's Parkinson's Syndrome.

The court has found the judge failed to adequately charge the jury on the fact that premeditation is not necessarily inconsistent with diminished responsibility.

It has found Tomkins' lawyers failed to adequately raise the point of fundamental importance to the fairness of the trial in a case where a number of alternative defences were put to the jury.

The 63-year-old, who is a wheelchair user, is facing a retrial but first the issue of bail has to be dealt with in circumstances in which where he will be cared for is a central concern.