A man charged with the murder of his mother appeared before Judge Adrian Harris at Galway District Court on Monday, November 2, to be presented with a book of evidence and have his case sent forward to the present sitting of the Circuit Criminal Court for trial.
Thirty-three-year-old Dubravko Ostojic, of Claí Mór, Ballybrit, Galway, appeared in person from prison for the process to be carried out.
The defendant was initially charged with assault, but this charge was upgraded to murder after his mother, Milena Ostojic (65 ), died having sustained serious injuries at her home at Clai Mór, Ballybrit, on April 24.
He stood silently in court in handcuffs and manacled to a prison officer. He made no comment during the proceedings, only to acknowledge that he understood what was going on. The defendant was represented by John Martin, solicitor.
A Detective Garda Sergeant gave evidence of presenting the book of evidence to Mr Martin on behalf of his client.
There was no application for bail, and the accused was again remanded in custody. The matter of legal aid was postponed due to the continuing legal aid dispute being engaged in by criminal defence solicitors. As a concession, solicitors are representing clients held in custody.
A book of evidence consists of all the evidence Gardaí have accumulated in the course of their investigation, presented to the defence, to facilitate the process of providing the accused the ability to decide on how they wish to proceed, either on a guilty plea or to fight the case on a not-guilty plea.
Judge Harris gave Ostojic the alibi warning. This involves a warning that if a defendant intends to rely on an alibi as part of their defence, then they, or their legal team, must provide Gardaí with the details of this alibi in advance of the trial beginning.
