Man jailed for murder of father of nine has conviction quashed

A man jailed for the murder of a father-of-nine who was stabbed more than 50 times is to have his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Sean Rodgers, 38, was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years for the murder of Edward Meenan in Londonderry in 2018.

On Friday, senior judges identified procedural errors which they said meant the guilty verdict was unsafe.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan directed that Rodgers will now face a retrial.

"We consider a retrial is appropriate in this case," she said.

No further details on the ruling can be disclosed at this stage for legal reasons.

Rodgers remains in custody but may seek release on bail at a later stage.

Rodgers' solicitor Ciaran O'Hare said: "The Court has recognised there were a number of significant procedural flaws in the conduct of the Crown Court trial which undermined the fairness and safety of our client's conviction.

He said the judgement represented "an important step towards justice being restored".