The Crown case against three travellers alleged to have butchered John Mongan to death in front of his wife and daughter has closed.
The Belfast Crown Court jury have been told the defence cases for Derry men Christopher Stokes, Edward Stokes and a teenager who cannot be named, will not start until Monday as there are legal discussions to be heard first.
At the end of the prosecution case against them, Detective Inspector Gareth Nicholl confirmed that, with massive forensic investigations into the murder of John Mongan, the only evidence to turn-up was that of a blood stain on a shirt alleged to belong to Edward Stokes, 38.
Edward Stokes, from Cornshell Fields, Christopher Stokes, 34, from Great James Street, both Derry, and the 16-year-old who cannot be named because of his age, all deny murdering the 30-year-old father-of-three in his Fallswater Street home in February 2008 and of causing criminal damage to his Mitsubishi Shogun jeep.
Edward Stokes also denies wounding Mrs Julia Mongan with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.
Since the trial began in October, the jury of five men and seven women have heard how a gang of four men smashed their way into the Mongan home and attacked Mr Mongan with numerous bladed weapons including an axe and a sword.
The evidence began with Mrs Julia Mongan, who was due to have a baby the next day, saying she had "no doubt" her husband's attackers were the men in the dock because she had seen their faces and recognised their voices before they allegedly launched their murderous attack.
She told the jury she was standing about two feet away and could see her husband of ten years "getting battered, brutally battered in front of me" and that when she turned around, "I saw my little girl standing there while the attack was continuing on her Daddy".
Inconsistencies
During a week of cross examination by the defence lawyers, a number of inconsistencies between her evidence and numerous police statements were drawn to the attention of the jury - including questions about whether or not the attackers were wearing gloves and balaclavas and about other items of clothing, focusing particularly on her allegations that they were all wearing blue and white checked shirts.
She denied vehemently any suggestions that she was "making it up as you go along" and had named the three defendants because she had been told to.
The jury also heard that during various searches, police officers recovered a check shirt which allegedly belonged to Edward Stokes and which had a small blood stain on the back of it which was shown to have the same DNA profile as Mr Mongan's.
Trial judge Mr Justice Treacy told the jury on Thursday that they would not be required again until Monday but warned them legal discussions "can sometimes take longer than counsel estimate".
The trial, which is at hearing, continues.
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