Man found guilty of capital murder of Mayo Detective Garda Colm Horkan

A 46-year-old man has been found guilty of the capital murder of a detective garda in Castlerea over two years ago.

Stephen Silver, with an address at Foxford, denied murdering Detective Garda Colm Horkan in June 2020 but admitted manslaughter.

The jury was told the main issue for them to decide on was Silver's state of mind at the time of the killing, RTÉ News reported.

The jury had a number of possible verdicts open to them – capital murder, murder or manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility or self-defence.

The jury began deliberating on Monday afternoon and spent almost nine hours deliberating before this evening reaching a unanimous verdict of guilty of murdering a garda in the course of his duty.

Silver previously went on trial for murder last year but the jury in that trial could not agree on a verdict.