Young man to stand trial for murder of Marius Mamaliga
Brandon Gavin, 20, has been charged with the murder of teenager Marius Mamaliga, who died following a stabbing incident in Dublin in February. Gavin was initially charged with causing serious harm to Mamaliga under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. However, following directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), he has now been further charged with murder.
The incident occurred on the evening of February 23 at Forest Court in Swords. Mamaliga was sitting in his car when he sustained severe injuries. Paramedics were attending to him when the police arrived, and he was rushed to Beaumont Hospital in critical condition. Unfortunately, Mamaliga passed away three days later.
During a hearing at Cloverhill District Court, Detective Garda Conor Tumbleton provided evidence of Gavin’s arrest, charge, and caution. Gavin, who appeared before Judge Cephas Power, did not reply to the murder charge when it was put to him. The DPP has directed that he will face trial on indictment for one count of murder, and the previous charge under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act has been withdrawn.
Gavin, who has been in custody with consent to bail since his first hearing in February, was granted legal aid after an application from defense counsel Sharon Rossiter. He was remanded in custody and is set to appear in court again on July 26. A book of evidence needs to be prepared and served on him before the District Court can grant a return for trial order to send him forward to the Central Criminal Court.
At his first hearing, Gavin handed himself into the police station in Swords after his father brought him there, one hour and twenty minutes after the incident occurred.