A man who believed that his wife had “cheated” on him in the past with his brother-in-law has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for stabbing his relative to death in front of his wife in broad daylight last year .
Andrew ‘Andy’ Cash took the stand in his own defense at the Central Criminal Court last week and told the jury he was “out of his head on tablets” and could not clearly remember the events of the fatal day.
The trial heard that Cash was deemed unfit for interview by a doctor for six hours after he was arrested due to intoxication.
During the trial, the defendant agreed with prosecuting counsel that he gave father-of-nine John Cash “a good thumping” while he was on the ground but denied stabbing him, telling the court that Mr Cash had “ducked” out of the knife’s way.
Cash said that while Mr Cash was on the ground, he heard a comment that made him “get a rush of anger” and that he “lost control”.
Cash, 30, of Highrath, Clara, Co Kilkenny, had been accused of the murder of Mr Cash, 40, at Hebron Road, Kilkenny City, on 3 May 2022.
The father of three was also accused of assault causing harm to his own sister, Elizabeth Cash, who is Mr Cash’s wife, and of the production of a knife during the course of a dispute or fight at around 12.30pm on the same date and at the same location.
Cash had pleaded not guilty to all three charges on 2 November.
The jury heard evidence that Mr Cash went into cardiac arrest after the attack and a post-mortem examination found he had sustained two stab wounds, with the cause of death recorded as an eight millimeter-deep wound to the left of his chest, penetrating the heart.
At the Central Criminal Court, the jury returned a 10-2 majority verdict on all charges in the case.
The jury found Cash not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Cash and not guilty of both the production of an article, the knife, during the course of a dispute and of the assault causing harm charge.
Ms Justice Eileen Creedon adjourned the case to 1 December for sentence to allow for the preparation of victim impact statements and thanked the jury before excusing them from jury service for ten years.
In a statement outside court after the verdicts, the Cash family thanked gardaí, the court and witnesses in the trial and said that “Johnny was a loving husband to his wife, Elizabeth, and an adoring father to his nine children and a doting ‘auld da’ to his four grandsons”.
John Cash’s family pays tribute to ‘doting auld da’
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“He was a loyal, protective brother, who was always a phone call away and will be sadly missed by all his friends.
“Every family occasion is difficult to celebrate as Johnny was taken too early from us in such a cruel way.
“We will forever miss Johnny as we move forward as family in our grief. He will never be forgotten, Big John Cash.
“He is missed now, more than ever as our family grows with the new additions of grandchildren, nieces and nephews,” said the family.
