Hatchet murderer who beat dog breeder to death in row over pups appeals conviction 

Turner was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy at the Central Criminal Court on February 27, 2017. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His co-accused, Wayne Cluskey, who was then 25, and also of Mooretown Rd, was found not guilty of the murder of Mr Nevin but guilty of his manslaughter, and was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment.

The trial heard that, on the day of the murder, Turner and Cluskey arrived at the Tailteann Road home of another man, Wayne Casserly, whom the deceased was visiting.

Turner had loaned Mr Nevin a male chihuahua to breed with three female chihuahuas for a fee. However, Nevin complained that the dog was “shooting blanks” as only one of the females became pregnant. A dispute then arose over what Turner would be paid and Turner and Cluskey drove to the deceased’s home.

In evidence, Turner said that when Mr Nevin answered the door he had a hatchet in his hand and was “roaring and shouting” and threatening to chop Turner’s head off. Cluskey then entered the scene carrying a hatchet he had taken from the car he drove to Mr Nevin’s address.

Cluskey then charged into Mr Nevin, dropping the hatchet and the two grappled on the ground, with Cluskey shouting “stop hitting me”.

As that fight continued down the driveway of the house, Turner picked up the axe Cluskey had dropped and used it to hit Mr Nevin several times, striking him in the head. Cluskey then got free, took the hatchet from Mr Nevin’s hands, and used it to strike the deceased on the body.

Turner claimed that he had lost all self-control in a “complete minute of madness” after, firstly, Mr Nevin threatened him with the hatchet and secondly as Mr Nevin and Cluskey began grappling on the ground. Cluskey said he was defending Turner when he ran in carrying the axe.

Turner told the trial that he “basically flipped and then I lost it”.

Mr Justice McCarthy told the jury to find Turner guilty of murder if they believed that he intended to kill or cause serious injury to Mr Nevin and that he had not lost all self-control and was not acting in self-defence.

The defences of provocation and of self-defence were both open to the jury and if either defence was accepted a verdict of manslaughter should be returned, the judge told the jury.

At the Court of Appeal, lawyers for Turner submitted that the trial judge erred in respect of the defence of provocation and of self-defence. 

Padraig Dwyer, for Turner, said the trial judge erred in directing the jury that a defence of provocation “would not lie if an accused person had set up a situation which he now invokes as provocation”, when the context was that of Turner travelling to the house in a car containing a hatchet to collect money.

Mr Dwyer said the trial judge also erred in failing to contextualise the “nuance” of the defence of provocation “having regard to the facts of the instant case”.

Responding, Garnet Orange, for the State, said Turner’s legal team’s “failure” to raise the issues at the trial regarding the judge’s charge to the jury “operates as a bar to them being raised in appeal”.

Mr Orange submitted that the jury rejected the defence of provocation not due to the trial judge’s charge but “rather, it was discounted due to the facts of the case”.

Presiding judge at the Court of Appeal Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, sitting with Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh and Ms Justice Tara Burns, said the court would reserve its judgement in the matter.