Closing arguments have begun in the trial of a man accused of the capital murder of a detective in Roscommon two years ago.
Stephen Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkin in Castlerea on June 17th, 2020 but guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
Members of the prosecution began their final arguments to the jury this afternoon, with James Dwyer SC thanking the 7 men and 5 women for their service over the last six week. Council then brought the jury through what they believed was the timeline leading to the shooting of Colm Horkan at close to midnight on the 17th. It was their argument that Stephen Silver was 'full of rage towards Garda Siochana' following his viewing of an alleged Garda raid on the home of his longtime friend, James Coyne, some time previous. Previous evidence from Silver had described him entering Castlerea Garda Station on the afternoon of the shooting and 'having a bit of a rant' about the abuse of an elder to which he had video evidence. Mr Dwyer put it to the Jury that the defense did not argue or challenge Mr Coyne's account of the moments before the shooting which did not match the testimony of the accused.
The prosecution stated that the 46 year old bike mechanic had 'let his mask slip' during the Interview process when he responded to a question about how he found out Colm Horkan was a guard, answering 'he told me and you told me'.
Evidence continues this afternoon
