Urantsetseg Tserendorj murder trial jury ask for 'heights of accused and deceased'

The jury of five men and seven women have been considering their verdict at the Central Criminal Court since yesterday.

This morning, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring responded to two questions that the jury asked. In relation to the height, she said Assistant State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers had put Ms Tserendorj's height at 1.64 metres or five feet five inches.

The only evidence relating to the height of the accused, she said, was from a security guard who described him as being "skinny" and about 1.7 metres or five feet seven inches.

The jury also asked for the definition of murder and manslaughter. Ms Justice Ring told the jury that under new legislation, the Criminal Procedure Act 2021, the court is allowed to give transcripts and relevant documents to the jury.

She gave the jury a transcript of her own charge to them which includes the definition of murder under the 1964 Criminal Justice Act which states, "where a person kills another unlawfully the killing shall not be murder unless the accused person intended to kill, or cause serious injury."

The jury deliberations are continuing.

The accused, who can't be identified as he is a minor, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Tserendorj but guilty to her manslaughter on January 29, 2021.

The State did not accept his plea. He has also pleaded guilty to producing a knife and to attempting to rob Ms Tserendorj on a walkway between George’s Dock and Custom House Quay in the IFSC, Dublin on January 20, 2021.