THE TRIAL OF Graham Dwyer, which was due to begin today, will not start until Thursday.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt told the jury of five women and seven men that it is expected to be a “difficult case”.
Dwyer, 42, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Elaine O’Hara, a 36-year-old Killiney woman.
O’Hara remained on the missing person’s list until September 2013 when a woman out walking her dog made the grim discovery at Kilakee in the Dublin mountains.
Addressing the jury, Justice Hunt said he wants jurors to ignore all opinion about the case - except their own.
He said that there would be considerable public interest and media coverage of the murder trial.
“Please do not have your heads turned by external matters,” he said.
Justice Hunt said to the jury that they were not to pay any attention to court reports, adding that they were going to hear everything in court that they needed to know to come to their verdict.
Opinion and colour pieces in the newspapers were valueless, he said.
The judge added that people will be interested in telling jurors their opinion of the case and he urged them to avoid any such conversations with family or friends.
He urged them to put aside “any prior notions of sympathy” and to solely concentrate on the evidence put before them.
Justice Hunt said that he understood this case, which is set to last between six to eight weeks, would be very taxing and inconvenient for jurors who give up their own personal time to sit on the jury.
Prior to the jury being sworn in yesterday, Mr Justice Paul Carney warned potential jurors the trial would be difficult. He said that any potential jurors should indicate if they were particularly “squeamish”.
It is understood that there are over 500 witness statements, more than 400 witnesses and a substantial amount of computer data and CCTV footage to be used as evidence in the case.
First published 1.23pm
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