THE RETRIAL of a former garda accused of killing a man at a hostel in London has got underway at the Old Bailey today.
A jury failed to reach a verdict on the charge of manslaughter during Oliver Hurley’s first trial last October.
Mr Hurley, 64, claims he was acting in self-defence when he pushed 56-year-old Manolito Chando out of a lift at a Salvation Army hostel near Westminster Abbey on March 24, 2016.
CCTV footage shows Mr Hurley entering the lift at around 8pm.
Mr Chando, who witnesses say was inebriated, then approaches the lift and pushes a button.
According to the Sun, prosecutor James Browne told jurors: “Mr Chando steps back out of the lift before he is pushed.
“At the time the defendant pushed him violently, Mr Chando has his arms folded.”
He added: “If you watch carefully, you’ll see that the force of the push is so great that Mr Chando is actually off the ground, he’s lifted off the ground by the force of the push.”
Mr Chando fell over backwards and suffered catastrophic head injuries.
He was placed in a medically-induced coma and died in hospital two weeks later.
Originally from Co. Wicklow, Mr Hurley was questioned by police and released on bail shortly after the alleged attack, but returned to Ireland.
He was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant six months later but fought extradition until he was brought back to Britain on January 31, 2017.
After his first trial, Hurley successfully applied for his bail conditions to be lifted temporarily so he could visit his sick elderly father in Ireland last December.
Mr Hurley, who left An Garda Síochána in 1980, is representing himself at the Old Bailey,
The defendant, of Wandsworth Bridge Road, South London, denies manslaughter.
See More: An Garda Síochána, Old Bailey, Oliver Hurley
