Pat Ward murder: Karen McDonald convicted of manslaughter

Pat Ward was found in an alleyway in County Tyrone in 2019

A woman has been found not guilty of murdering a man in Clogher, County Tyrone, in 2019 but has been convicted of manslaughter.

Pat Ward, 30, originally from Sligo in the Republic of Ireland, was found dead in an alleyway.

Karen McDonald, 37, who lived at McCrea Park in Clogher, was found guilty of manslaughter by a unanimous verdict.

Karen McDonald had denied murdering Pat Ward

Mr Ward had been beaten, kicked and stabbed after spending the night drinking in Ms McDonald's home.

McDonald's former partner Niall Cox, 27, has already admitted the February 2019 murder and is awaiting sentence.

McDonald had been giving evidence from the witness box at Dungannon Crown Court.

During the trial, she claimed her relationship with Cox was abusive and she was a victim of domestic violence.

CCTV footage was shown to the jury of Mr Ward being dragged by Cox from the house to the alleyway.

McDonald was seen carrying his legs for a few seconds. The prosecution said this showed her assisting and encouraging Cox in carrying out the attack.

The defence had argued that Cox alone was responsible for the murder.

McDonald gave evidence that her relationship with Cox was violent and abusive, and she feared he would kill her.

She admitted she had lied to Pat Ward's wife Ellie, who called at the house looking for her husband, and that she lied to police during interviews after being arrested.

The jury did not accept that she had acted under duress.

At court: Julian Fowler, south west reporter

McDonald nodded her head before sitting down in the dock and crying as the guilty verdict to manslaughter was delivered.

Members of Mr Ward's family watched quietly in the public gallery.

Outside the court, they expressed mixed emotions at the verdicts as they held up a flag in memory of the amateur boxer.

McDonald will be sentenced along with her former partner, Cox.