A JURY has failed to reach a verdict in the retrial of a Co Tyrone man accused of killing a 19-year-old in a so-called one-punch case.
Jason McGovern of Tydavnet, Co Monaghan died after being attacked on a night out in Omagh on New Year's Eve in 2012.
Mark Donnelly (23) from Greencastle had pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.
He now faces trial for a fourth time after two juries could not agree and a third trial was aborted for legal reasons.
The Dungannon Crown Court jury had been deliberating for more than four hours, over two days before returning to tell Her Honour Judge McReynolds that they reached a stalemate.
The jury, by way of a note, had earlier indicated that they were "unable to make up a majority verdict of ten", as required by law.
They returned to court a short time later to declare they were "still unable to make a majority verdict".
Judge McReynolds, who indicated it would now be up to the Public Prosecution Service to decided on whether or not Donnelly will face a re-trial, gave prosecution QC Liam McCollun until June 19.
However, he said he was unsure if such a decision could be made by then.
The 23-year-old former motorcross ace, from Greencastle, between Omagh and Cookstown, who denies the 2012 New Year's Eve manslaughter of the teenager, was released on continuing bail.
Mr McGovern was found dead in the Co Monaghan home of a friend in the village of Mullan hours after the attack.
A post mortem examination later revealed he had a fractured skull and died from resulting bleeding on the brain.
During the trial Donnelly maintained that he was an innocent, wrongly identified by flawed witnesses as being the man in the white shirt who threw the punch outside a club which ultimately led to Mr McGovern's death hours later.
"I would say she (the witness) is mistaken .... its not true," Donnelly had said in his own defence.
However, the prosecution claimed that the Tyrone man was a "cowardly liar", prepared to do "anything to save his own skin" because he just cannot face up to being the person responsible for the teenager's death, and had tried to distance himself from it.
