Donegal man Bryan McElhinney has been acquitted for the manslaughter of Brian Hingston following a fatal brawl in Boston.
McElhinney (24) had been charged with landing a fatal blow to the head of Hingston (45) on April 17, 2016 at approximately 1am.
The Irish Times report that tensions mounted in the court room as it pitted Irish against Boston Irish (Hingston was fifth-generation Irish).
McElhinney’s attorney Michael Doolin told the jury of six men and six women that the Donegal witnesses called will not testify in McElhinney’s favour just because they are from the same county; “There is no Donegal conspiracy.”
He also stated that “people are part of a conspiracy because they are from the same part of Ireland.”
5 of the 27 witnesses called were from Donegal.
Their testimony went against the government’s narrative that dad of three Hingston had acted as a peacemaker, when he had actually be involved in the fight. This in turn strengthened McElhinney’s claim that he had punched Hingston in self-defense.
A 23-year-old Kerry man also stated that he did not see McElhinney push Hingston, but he did see him punch him.
The prosecution claimed that Hingston was a peacemaker and had gotten involved “with his arms up, palms open.”
Assistant district attorney Catherine Ham asked the jury to listen to McElhinney’s recorded testimony once more, where Ham claims he made conflicting statements; and also urged the jury to have patience with his thick Donegal “brogue.”
Mr Doolin said that McElhinney is a soft-spoken man who had got involved in the fight when his brother-in-law was too drunk to fight.
McElhinney’s wife had just delivered their first baby, a son, on Sunday last.
The jury only took an hour and fifteen minutes to decide to acquit him of manslaughter and aggravated battery charges.
When the not guilty verdict was read out, McElhinney looked straight ahead.