Nicola Brennan pleads guilty to the murder of her former partner

Eoin Reynolds

A woman whose trial for the murder of her former lover ended in a jury disagreement has pleaded guilty to his manslaughter at the Central Criminal Court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted Nicola Brennan's plea that she unlawfully killed but did not murder Juris Viktorovs (36) at the home they shared at Shillelagh, Ballyconnell, County Wicklow on February 10th, 2022.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott requested probation and prison governor reports and adjourned the case for a sentencing hearing on October 7th. Brennan has been in the Dochas women's prison since June 2022.

Brennan (33), of no fixed abode, pleaded not guilty to murder in December last year but following a month-long trial the jury could not agree a verdict.

The trial heard that the accused was going out with Viacestaus Narnickis and was living in the same house as the deceased and his girlfriend Brenda Kane in Ballyconnell. During her garda interviews, Ms Brennan said she had previously had a "fling" with the deceased, but she denied being jealous of his relationship with Ms Kane.

The jury was told that gardaí were satisfied Mr Narnickis wasn’t involved in the stabbing and no charges were brought against him.

The prosecution relied on the eye-witness evidence of Ms Kane who said that she was asleep in bed when Mr Narnickis entered the room and asked Mr Viktorovs to roll him a cigarette.

As Mr Viktorovs rolled the cigarette, Ms Kane said she saw Ms Brennan throw something across the room before coming into the room where Ms Kane said she saw the accused "put the knife into" Mr Viktorovs.

Defence counsel Colman Cody SC, in his closing speech at the trial, said Ms Kane's evidence was unreliable and pointed to what he said were cracks in the prosecution case. He said the people present at the time had been drinking heavily and given the "chaotic" circumstances, he asked if it was possible to draw any conclusions with certainty.

Before sending the jury out following the conclusion of evidence in the trial, Mr Justice McDermott said a finding of murder requires that the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms Brennan inflicted the fatal wound and at the time she intended to kill or cause serious harm.

A person who commits an unlawful killing but without the necessary intent is guilty of manslaughter, not murder, he said.