verdict | 

Man found guilty of stab murder of dad-to-be (24) during altercation in Cork town

Jurors at the trial of Tyler ‘Tiggy’ Jackson took just under seven hours to return a 10-2 verdict

Olivia Kelleher and Ralph Riegel

Today at 15:35

A 26-year-old man has been found guilty of the murder of father-to-be Conor Quinn (24) who died after he sustained a stab wound to the chest on Bridge Street in Mallow, Co Cork on July 12, 2018.

Jurors at the trial of Tyler ‘Tiggy’ Jackson took just under seven hours to return a 10-2 verdict at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork this afternoon.

Mr Jackson, formerly of Ballydaheen West, Mallow in Co Cork was found guilty by majority verdict of the murder of Mr Quinn, who was a Galway native who resided in Tipperary town.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon thanked the jurors for their service and excused them from further jury service for a period of five years. The jurors had been given the option of finding Mr Jackson guilty or not guilty of murder or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

Mr Jackson was remanded in custody for sentencing at 2pm next Tuesday. The case was adjourned to allow the family to prepare victim impact statements. There is a mandatory life sentence when a person is found guilty of murder.

When the trial began on October 4, jurors heard that Mr Quinn attended the Cahirmee Horse Fair in Buttevant, Co Cork with his cousins on the day the fatal stabbing occurred. His girlfriend Stephanie was heavily pregnant at the time of his death.

In an outline of the case to the jury at the opening of the trial, Ray Boland, Prosecuting barrister, said that members of the group left the fair in Buttevant on the evening of July 12, 2018 and decided to stop off for food in Mallow.

Mr Boland, SC, said that the companions parked on Main Street in the town that evening.

“Conor Quinn spotted Tyler Jackson. Conor Quinn got out of his car and confronted Tyler Jackson — also known by his nickname ‘Tiggy.’ They had some knowledge of each other in advance. There was some animosity between them. They were not friendly.”

He said that the first exchange between Mr Jackson and Mr Quinn occurred at 7.59pm. Mr Boland said that it was the prosecution case that a second interaction occurred between the two men at 8.38pm.

“At 8.38pm the deceased and his party were stopped in traffic on Bridge Street. The deceased was in the front (passenger) seat of the car. Conor Quinn spotted Tyler Jackson across the road.

“He left the car to confront Tyler Jackson. It was a physical confrontation — a scuffle between them.

“Tyler Jackson struck Conor Quinn once in the chest and ran away. The prosecution contention is that the strike was with a knife.

“It was a stab wound and that is the wound from which he died. Conor Quinn went back to his companions and said to his cousins, ‘He is after stabbing me.’

“By coincidence there was an ambulance also stopped in traffic. They went to the ambulance. He (Conor) collapsed, never regained consciousness and died.”

Mr Boland said that Conor Quinn was taken to Cork University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The trial heard evidence from Samantha Quinn who is a cousin of the deceased. She said that Tyler stabbed her cousin in the chest.

“Then Conor fell down to the ground. He did not fully fall down. It was like someone who was tripping. He fell forwards. He had sunglasses on his head — they fell on the ground.

“There was an ambulance coming up the street. We all got out of the car. Conor ran towards the ambulance and tried to open the door. He was still holding his chest. He leaned against the wall. Then he slowly to the ground.”

Meanwhile, Defence barrister, Brian McInerney, SC, had claimed that Mr Jackson didn’t have a knife on his person on the day of the stabbing. The jury overwhelmingly rejected a suggestion by the defence that Mr Quinn had inadvertently stabbed himself after he collided with Mr Jackson during an altercation between the two men.

Prosecuting barrister, Ray Boland, SC, said there was a witness who saw Mr Jackson leaving the scene after the fatal stabbing. The witness said that he was carrying a kitchen knife.

State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told the jury that Mr Quinn died of haemorrhage, shock and partial lung collapse after he sustained a single stab wound to the chest. She said that the stab wound measured eight to 12 centimetres in depth, penetrated the heart and fractured a rib.

Dr Bolster said that a knife into the ventricle chamber of the heart which pumps blood in to the aorta leading to the partial collapse of the left lung. She said Mr Quinn suffered “massive blood loss” in the incident.

The Defence put it to Dr Bolster that Mr Quinn could have stabbed himself after he collided with Mr Jackson.

Dr Bolster said that this would be “very unlikely” for such an event to occur because a stabbing of this nature required a “moderate degree of force.”

She also indicated that the postmortem revealed that the stab wound was inflicted laterally from the side towards the centre and penetrated the heart.

Conor Quinn was originally from Loughrea in Co Galway but grew up in Tipperary town. He was laid to rest at St Michael’s cemetery in Tipperary on July 19th, 2018.

Fr Eugene Everard told mourners at the funeral mass of Conor at St Michael’s Church in Tipperary that he should have been getting ready for the birth of his and his partner’s baby but instead lost his life.

He said that Conor had a “great sense of humour” and was “loyal and kind.”

Fr Everard said that his life had been “tragically and violently taken away.”

He urged members of the public not to carry knives warning that they “bring too much pain and tragedy to people’s lives.”