Donegal men facing murder charge in Australia appear in court

 
 

Intoxication will play a major part in the defence of two Donegal men accused of murdering a 66-year-old man in Sydney, a court has heard.
22 year old Nathan Kelly and 25 year old Christopher McLaughlin are alleged to have murdered Paul William Tavelardis in the Summer Hill area of the city in December of last year.
The men, reportedly from the Inishowen area, had been charged previously with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm but police upgraded the charge to murder after the man died in hospital on March 4th.
The pair appeared in the New South Wales Supreme Court on audio-visual link from a prison in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Neither entered a plea via their barrister, Margaret Cunneen.
Justice Elizabeth Fullerton told Ms Cunneen it was clear that “very, very severe intoxication by alcohol” was a factor in the alleged crime.
The two men are due to appear in same court on February 14th 2020.