:00:00. > :00:18.Good evening, our top stories on BBC Newsline tonight...
:00:19. > :00:23.A West Belfast father is found not guilty of killing his baby daughter.
:00:24. > :00:26.Police failings in their search for
:00:27. > :00:27.this young man were inexplicable, inexcusable
:00:28. > :00:43.His family welcomed the corner's finding. It has been so hard to find
:00:44. > :00:45.answers, the search was not done properly.
:00:46. > :00:49.A lucky escape for a County Antrim family, as a slurry tanker crashes
:00:50. > :00:52.Controversy over who will chair talks after the Assembly election -
:00:53. > :00:54.one former American chairman rules himself out.
:00:55. > :01:07.The geese who fly in from Iceland to winter in Belfast's Shankill.
:01:08. > :01:09.On a bumper weekend of rugby, illness sees Ireland's Rory Best
:01:10. > :01:13.While here in Belfast, Ulster aim for rehabilitation
:01:14. > :01:16.And the cold weather continues this weekend,
:01:17. > :01:30.I'll have your full forecast later in the programme.
:01:31. > :01:35.A man has been found not guilty of murdering his baby daughter.
:01:36. > :01:38.Caragh Walsh was three months old when she died in February 2014.
:01:39. > :01:40.Her father - Christopher O'Neill from the Whiterock Road
:01:41. > :01:42.in West Belfast - was accused of her murder.
:01:43. > :01:45.The jury at Craigavon Crown Court, sitting in Armagh, this afternoon
:01:46. > :01:55.Throughout the four-week trial, Christopher O'Neill denied any
:01:56. > :02:00.suggestion that he found bye-bye Caragh, saying that he loved her to
:02:01. > :02:03.bits. -Year-old from West Belfast was accused of killing his
:02:04. > :02:11.three-month-old baby daughter by shooting her violently whilst in a
:02:12. > :02:15.rage at her home in February 20 14. During the trial, he said that he
:02:16. > :02:20.had shaken her, trying to revive her, she thought she was dying,
:02:21. > :02:24.bye-bye Caragh died in hospital two days later.
:02:25. > :02:28.In Craigavon Crown Court, the jury of 10,000,001 woman, fined by
:02:29. > :02:38.majority verdict of at least ten to one was not guilty of killing his
:02:39. > :02:43.baby daughter. -- the jury of one man, ten men, one women. The family
:02:44. > :02:49.side with Billy. In the gallery behind him, the baby's mother stood
:02:50. > :02:53.up and shouted, you killed my baby, my baby is dead because of you. She
:02:54. > :02:58.was led from the court room with her family. Still in the dock, Mr
:02:59. > :03:03.O'Neill put his head in his hands. When the judge said he was free to
:03:04. > :03:08.leave, his family applauded and have Tim and said, we love you. Mr
:03:09. > :03:15.O'Neill's solicitor said it had been a difficult case with no winners.
:03:16. > :03:18.A coroner has criticised police for failing to find a young man
:03:19. > :03:20.who died after going missing from a mental health unit.
:03:21. > :03:23.His body was found ten weeks later close to the unit
:03:24. > :03:26.22-year-old James Fenton had been identified as "high risk"
:03:27. > :03:29.after telling staff he wanted to kill himself.
:03:30. > :03:39.The family of James Fenton were at court this afternoon
:03:40. > :03:42.for what marked the end of long, difficult and at times
:03:43. > :03:54.It's been our horrendously long road, not just for a few months, but
:03:55. > :03:55.for 6.5 years. It has been so, so hard.
:03:56. > :03:59.22-year-old James Fenton went missing from Ward 27
:04:00. > :04:07.at the Mental Health Unit in early July 2010.
:04:08. > :04:10.And police were called in to search the grounds
:04:11. > :04:14.They failed to find the missing man, whose body was discovered
:04:15. > :04:15.less than 40 metres from the Mental Health
:04:16. > :04:22.The coroner was a very critical of the police response when James
:04:23. > :04:27.Fenton went missing from the mental health unit. He describe you feel
:04:28. > :04:35.size inexplicable, -- describe refill yours as inexplicable and
:04:36. > :04:38.excusable. It was said that he could have found them more quickly
:04:39. > :04:44.although it could not be said with Steve would have been alive. --
:04:45. > :04:45.could not have said whether he would have been alive.
:04:46. > :04:48.A police ombudsman report was also critical of how the case
:04:49. > :04:50.was handled and 12 officers were subsequently disciplined.
:04:51. > :04:52.The PSNI has since changed its policy and practices on missing
:04:53. > :04:55.persons as a direct result of the Fenton case.
:04:56. > :04:57.The coroner described the actions of the hospital staff at the time
:04:58. > :05:02.But he had harder words for the PSNI.
:05:03. > :05:06.Joe McCrisken said consideration should have been given
:05:07. > :05:08.to a police dog search, which may have led to Mr Fenton
:05:09. > :05:16.being found shortly after he'd absconded.
:05:17. > :05:18.Today, the PSNI issued a wholehearted apology to the Fenton
:05:19. > :05:24.family for the police failings in this case.
:05:25. > :05:35.I am hoping things will change. I know that the PSNI have changed. We
:05:36. > :05:39.have changed how to search for a missing person but they cannot make
:05:40. > :05:44.the excuse of not enough funding for mental health, things have to
:05:45. > :05:46.change. How many more people have to lose their lives?
:05:47. > :05:48.The coroner found that, due to advanced decomposition,
:05:49. > :05:49.the cause of James Fenton's death was unascertainable,
:05:50. > :05:52.although it was his view that the young man died
:05:53. > :05:55.shortly after he climbed over the gate and absconded from
:05:56. > :05:56.the Ulster Hospital's Mental Health Unit.
:05:57. > :06:04.Mervyn Jess, BBC Newsline, at Belfast Coroner's Court.
:06:05. > :06:09.A care worker found guilty of abusing elderly residents
:06:10. > :06:11.at a care home in Dunmurray has been sentenced
:06:12. > :06:15.41-year-old Lisa Cullen from Lagmore Drive in Dunmurray
:06:16. > :06:17.was sentenced after pleading guilty to assaulting a whistleblower
:06:18. > :06:19.from the home at a previous court appearance.
:06:20. > :06:23.Our reporter, Dan Stanton, was in court.
:06:24. > :06:31.Lisa Cullen leaving court after being found guilty of abusing
:06:32. > :06:33.patients. She was released on bail because she is appealing her
:06:34. > :06:38.sentence. The judge said she had shown no
:06:39. > :06:41.remorse or change of attitude since being found guilty of the ill
:06:42. > :06:47.treatment of elderly patients in her care. The judge sentenced her to a
:06:48. > :06:52.total of four months in jail. The offences took place sometime
:06:53. > :06:58.between November 2012 and December 2013 at this care home in Dunmurray.
:06:59. > :07:01.Five elderly patients, two men, three women, were mistreated there.
:07:02. > :07:07.Relatives of the patients at the Kilwee nursing home Clapton Court
:07:08. > :07:11.after the sentence was passed. It was the hardest thing we have ever
:07:12. > :07:19.done was to put our model there, and to find out that she hit my mother,
:07:20. > :07:25.its soul destroying. She told my husband she had full Alzheimer's,
:07:26. > :07:29.was like a baby, and was better to go out and run around traffic. She
:07:30. > :07:34.was sentenced today after assaulting a whistle-blower on the grounds of
:07:35. > :07:39.Lisburn Magistrates Court after a previous hearing. She had a vendetta
:07:40. > :07:44.against me, she hated me for some reason, I do not know what, I have
:07:45. > :07:47.been tortured, I have been just literally tortured from all of this
:07:48. > :07:52.happening, she seems to have passed the blame onto me and be alone. Lisa
:07:53. > :07:57.Cullen didn't say anything as she was being driven away from court.
:07:58. > :08:00.A County Antrim man says he's been left in shock after a slurry tank
:08:01. > :08:02.crashed through a wall into his front garden
:08:03. > :08:07.Our north east reporter Sara Girvin has the story.
:08:08. > :08:10.CCTV shows the dramatic moment a slurry tank crashes
:08:11. > :08:16.It missed the home itself, in Glenavy, by less than a metre.
:08:17. > :08:19.The homeowner, who was in the property at the time,
:08:20. > :08:25.said he's just glad no-one was hurt.
:08:26. > :08:31.Well, obviously quite shocked, but believed, it could have been so much
:08:32. > :08:35.worse. If somebody was standing here, you can see where parts of the
:08:36. > :08:39.wall have gone flying. It could have been worse if myself, children or
:08:40. > :08:41.anyone had been there, postman, anybody at all!
:08:42. > :08:44.The Belfast Road was closed for a time while the car,
:08:45. > :08:47.tractor and slurry tank involved in the crash were removed.
:08:48. > :08:49.Oil also had to be cleaned up, but the road has reopened.
:08:50. > :08:55.Plans by the Health Minister Michelle O'Neill to tackle hospital
:08:56. > :09:13.waiting lists have been criticised by the DUP Leader Arlene Foster.
:09:14. > :09:15.In a letter, Mrs Foster responded to Minister O'Neill's
:09:16. > :09:17.thirty-one million pound plan to treat patients who have been
:09:18. > :09:20.The DUP leader accused Sinn Fein of electioneering.
:09:21. > :09:23.But Sinn Fein hit back saying the DUP were trying
:09:24. > :09:25.to deflect attention away from the RHI scandal.
:09:26. > :09:27.Opposition to the Secretary of State chairing negotiations after
:09:28. > :09:30.Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance have doubted James Brokenshire's
:09:31. > :09:32.suitability after he claimed inquiries into Troubles-related
:09:33. > :09:36.killings were disproportionately focused on the police and army.
:09:37. > :09:42.Here's our political correspondent Gareth Gordon.
:09:43. > :09:44.The Secretary of State used an address to business leaders
:09:45. > :09:47.in Belfast last night to call for an early return to power
:09:48. > :09:53.But after his recent claim that there is too much focus
:09:54. > :09:58.on Troubles killings carried out by the security forces,
:09:59. > :10:00.is he the person to lead the negotiations?
:10:01. > :10:11.If you look at his actions to date, for example his comments in relation
:10:12. > :10:15.to British soldiers being given immunity, and the views of the
:10:16. > :10:18.people of the North who want to stay within the European Union, his
:10:19. > :10:20.one-sided partisan views on a lot of things, I don't believe he is an
:10:21. > :10:22.honest broker. Unionists came to the Secretary
:10:23. > :10:31.of State's defence. We have tried International chairs
:10:32. > :10:35.in the past, with no success. We are part of the United Kingdom. The
:10:36. > :10:40.Secretary of State is the Secretary of State. If they are going into
:10:41. > :10:43.further negotiations, I would expect the Secretary of State to cheer
:10:44. > :10:48.them. Sinn Fein want a period of direct rule. The person they are
:10:49. > :10:50.criticising, in the form of James Brokenshire, will have
:10:51. > :10:54.uncontrollable rule over Northern Ireland. From my perspective, I
:10:55. > :10:57.think the people of Northern Ireland will not react well to Sinn Fein
:10:58. > :10:59.arrogantly saying the British government should have no role in
:11:00. > :11:00.the talks. But opposition to the James
:11:01. > :11:09.Brokenshire having a talks role There is no way whatsoever now that
:11:10. > :11:14.the Secretary of State can act as some kind of honest broker, he is
:11:15. > :11:18.not independent, we need an independent, international figure
:11:19. > :11:21.who chaired the legacy element of the talks, that's the only way this
:11:22. > :11:26.can be done. The UK Secretary of State is a key player but has to
:11:27. > :11:30.reflect the approach is taken to date and change his approach. His
:11:31. > :11:35.approach to date has been and is viewed as many as being partisan,
:11:36. > :11:38.which will not produce the results in terms of ensuring that we have
:11:39. > :11:39.devolution restored to Northern Ireland.
:11:40. > :11:42.It's one more potential obstacle standing in the way
:11:43. > :11:47.Now, if the post-election negotiations require
:11:48. > :11:51.an independent chairman, it won't be Senator George Mitchell.
:11:52. > :11:55.He chaired the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement,
:11:56. > :11:57.of course, but in an interview at Queen's University
:11:58. > :12:00.in Belfast today, he said the parties don't need him.
:12:01. > :12:04.He's been speaking to BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson.
:12:05. > :12:12.How have you been? The last time we met, he was during
:12:13. > :12:17.crisis talks at Stormont, sort two decades later, is he ready to make a
:12:18. > :12:23.comeback? I've done my tour of duty here. And I think, in every
:12:24. > :12:30.situation, you constantly have to meet new challenges. And with new
:12:31. > :12:34.people and new ideas. I know these men and women, they have been up to
:12:35. > :12:38.it in the past, they gotten over much bigger hurdles than this, and
:12:39. > :12:43.kept the process going, and I am confident they will do so again. The
:12:44. > :12:47.Good Friday Agreement will be 20 years old next year. Some believe it
:12:48. > :12:54.has now passed its sell by date. And there needs to be a new agreement? I
:12:55. > :13:00.don't look at it in terms of a new agreement completely replacing an
:13:01. > :13:04.old agreement. What I look at this as a process of change to meet the
:13:05. > :13:08.changing circumstances and conditions. Many people watching
:13:09. > :13:12.will be seeing BSG goes again, always so optimistic, cup holders
:13:13. > :13:16.half full, he must be worried this agreement is falling apart in front
:13:17. > :13:21.of our very eyes. -- many people will say, there goes again. I have
:13:22. > :13:28.been in Northern Ireland, both at home in the process that led to the
:13:29. > :13:30.agreement and to as Chancellor is this great institution, Queen's
:13:31. > :13:34.University, to know the basic strength of the people of Northern
:13:35. > :13:41.Ireland. One of the strengths is there a self-critical and sometimes
:13:42. > :13:46.they are too much self-critical. I am often asked, isn't it terrible,
:13:47. > :13:50.these problems we have politics? I said, you are asking an American
:13:51. > :13:55.that question? You don't think we have problems? That exists all
:13:56. > :14:01.around the world. Let's concentrate on solutions, rather than on how we
:14:02. > :14:07.get there. He is now 83 years of age and still working. But as far as
:14:08. > :14:10.Stormont is concerned, Mitchell has now retired. Mark Sampson, BBC
:14:11. > :14:13.Newsline at Queen's University. Now, they're seasonal visitors
:14:14. > :14:15.who return every year. But some of the Greylag geese
:14:16. > :14:18.who migrate to Belfast have picked a rather unusual spot
:14:19. > :14:21.to see out the winter. Our Agriculture and Environment
:14:22. > :14:23.Correspondent, Conor Macauley, They've been coming
:14:24. > :14:29.to the Shankill Estate for years. These Greylag geese fly
:14:30. > :14:35.in from Iceland for the winter. It's said that, when they first
:14:36. > :14:38.arrived, the word went out With an ample supply of food -
:14:39. > :14:44.both the short grass they favour and what the locals regularly
:14:45. > :14:58.provide - they've prospered. Greylag geese have been coming to
:14:59. > :15:01.the Shankill estate for around ten years. These birds are very
:15:02. > :15:04.site-specific so it is entirely possible that these are the
:15:05. > :15:08.descendants of the original flock. They're a bit of a
:15:09. > :15:10.novelty on the estate. The annual arrival a date
:15:11. > :15:20.in the Shankill calendar. I have a funny feeling it's the same
:15:21. > :15:26.keys. I know they all look the same, but... They all look the same, but
:15:27. > :15:28.there is one that of colour around it, and that of colour, so someone
:15:29. > :15:36.must be monitoring their flight. It may not be the obvious habitat,
:15:37. > :15:38.what with the potential risks posed by pets and people,
:15:39. > :15:49.but its working for the Greylags. It seems strange to people walking
:15:50. > :15:52.past, this flock of geese in the Nir Biton but -- in an urban
:15:53. > :15:55.environment, but they are safe, needing small amounts of water, and
:15:56. > :15:59.they can feed here during the day. Every night, they leave
:16:00. > :16:01.the estate for the lakes Clearly a bird that likes
:16:02. > :16:05.to spread itself around A woman from Belfast says she had
:16:06. > :16:16.no hesitation in undergoing major surgery in a bid
:16:17. > :16:19.to help save a stranger's life. 23-year-old Jenna Armstrong
:16:20. > :16:21.originally took part in a bone marrow test to help
:16:22. > :16:24.save a child with cancer. When no match was found,
:16:25. > :16:26.she was later told she was Our Health Correspondent
:16:27. > :16:29.Marie-Louise Connolly What better way to celebrate
:16:30. > :16:36.saving someone's life That's exactly what Jenna Armstrong
:16:37. > :16:41.did three weeks ago, after donating her bone marrow
:16:42. > :16:51.to a stranger. It was a no-brainer, it was one of
:16:52. > :16:55.those things that in my head I had to do. It was a chance to
:16:56. > :17:00.potentially help save someone in a particularly tricky situation and,
:17:01. > :17:01.in my head, what I was doing was insignificant what they had been
:17:02. > :17:04.going through. Last year, 23-year-old Jenna
:17:05. > :17:06.and her family registered to become That means, if a suitable match
:17:07. > :17:10.is found, they can donate blood When the call came, Jenna
:17:11. > :17:25.and her mum travelled I had five injections into my back
:17:26. > :17:28.and the extracted 1.2 litres of my bone marrow, the maximum they can
:17:29. > :17:33.take for my height and weight for the person, they told me it was a
:17:34. > :17:39.29-year-old man in America and he would be receiving the bone marrow
:17:40. > :17:42.of the day after I needed it. It was emotional because it was before
:17:43. > :17:48.Christmas and all I could think of was, if that was somebody in my
:17:49. > :17:52.family, or my child, my brother, my sister, I would hope someone would
:17:53. > :17:54.do what Jenna has done. Bone marrow is a spongy tissue found
:17:55. > :17:57.in the hollow centres of some bones. The stem cells found
:17:58. > :17:59.there are extremely healthy. When pumped into a sick person,
:18:00. > :18:02.it can help save their life. Here at Queen's University Belfast,
:18:03. > :18:14.clinical trials continue Basically, what it does is give them
:18:15. > :18:19.a new immune system, different from the patient. One, and that new
:18:20. > :18:25.immune system because it is different has the ability to fight
:18:26. > :18:28.the disease and we know from long-term working on this in the
:18:29. > :18:31.majority of people this will cure the disease. -- immune system
:18:32. > :18:37.different from the patient's own. A champion Irish dancer,
:18:38. > :18:39.Jenna's appealing to others to follow in her footsteps
:18:40. > :18:49.and to become a blood Sport now and Ireland played Italy
:18:50. > :18:57.tomorrow. Rory Best will have to sit it out because of injury.
:18:58. > :19:02.It was a captain's run with a difference for Ireland, no captain
:19:03. > :19:07.in attendance. Rory Best, who so often leads from the front, was back
:19:08. > :19:13.in his Hotel room nursing a stomach bug he picked up overnight. The
:19:14. > :19:20.other always think that crop up in the course of a week and I think how
:19:21. > :19:25.we react and respond to it will hopefully allow us to continue the
:19:26. > :19:30.preparation as seamlessly as possible and unfortunately these
:19:31. > :19:33.things happened, but we are confident he will recover in time
:19:34. > :19:37.for tomorrow. Before the Ireland team arrived here this afternoon,
:19:38. > :19:47.another Irishman was that to grace the turf but not playing, the
:19:48. > :19:50.Italian head coach Colin or she is plotting Ireland's downfall tomorrow
:19:51. > :20:00.after having war on the show many times. From my point of duty is
:20:01. > :20:04.someone great. Looking for the players to have a good environment
:20:05. > :20:12.and working well. If you win tomorrow, I think he is going to be
:20:13. > :20:16.happy, but for us as a team maybe not him as a person. The game
:20:17. > :20:20.against Scotland last week left a lot to be desired but that approach
:20:21. > :20:25.tomorrow will be different. As long as you are prepared and we know our
:20:26. > :20:28.job, I think that will take care of it and we focus on what we've got to
:20:29. > :20:36.do and trust the process. We have looked at it during the week and try
:20:37. > :20:39.to revise and we are in a good place, but it is International Rugby
:20:40. > :20:43.Board you have to go out there. So all eyes will be on the team
:20:44. > :20:48.sheet tomorrow, hoping for the best of news.
:20:49. > :20:50.Next to one of the most romantic and remarkable
:20:51. > :20:54.Their camogs are in an All-Ireland final, their hurlers
:20:55. > :20:59.and footballers are also one match away from an all-Ireland final.
:21:00. > :21:01.They are of course Slaughtneil, who tomorrow take
:21:02. > :21:03.on Dubiln and Leinster champions St Vincents in the club
:21:04. > :21:17.One tiny club, one total community effort, the efforts for Slaughtneil
:21:18. > :21:21.up almost as monumental as the mountains around and between these
:21:22. > :21:26.played people. The next challenge is to be the best that the metropolis
:21:27. > :21:30.of Dublin has to offer. Massive challenge ahead, we are under no
:21:31. > :21:34.illusions how tough it will be, bringing huge physicality to the
:21:35. > :21:39.game, they are fairly similar to Dublin seniors, it is going to be a
:21:40. > :21:46.massive battle for us. There are three strands to this story. The
:21:47. > :21:51.dream is Croke Park on St Patrick's Day. It has been so positive, not
:21:52. > :21:58.just because of one, but because of the together. -- because of all
:21:59. > :22:03.three together. We have to embrace that and continue. And now for the
:22:04. > :22:09.next and final chapter. And best of luck to Slaughtneil. And
:22:10. > :22:13.it has been chilly, what is in store this weekend?
:22:14. > :22:19.Not getting any warmer unfortunately and pretty chilly already this
:22:20. > :22:23.evening, temperature dropping close to freezing. If you are heading to
:22:24. > :22:28.the all-star match this evening, if you have not left, wrap up warm. But
:22:29. > :22:36.you can watch from the comfort of your own home on BBC Two. -- Ulster.
:22:37. > :22:40.Tonight we are looking at widespread frost. If you fancy hill walking
:22:41. > :22:44.this weekend or heading to the moors, there were some flurries of
:22:45. > :22:48.snow today, so it will be slippery and it will be bitterly cold. Lots
:22:49. > :22:54.of dry weather this weekend, just have lots of layers on. As I
:22:55. > :22:59.mentioned, temperatures falling away tonight. Possibly as low as minus
:23:00. > :23:03.five in parts of the countryside, not everywhere with sharp frost but
:23:04. > :23:08.frost in many places to start Saturday morning and taking a while
:23:09. > :23:13.for it to lift but we expect greater skies tomorrow and largely dry. The
:23:14. > :23:18.frost it gradually coming out of that ground, cold breeze picking up
:23:19. > :23:22.again, making it feel really better along parts of the East Coast.
:23:23. > :23:27.Cloudy skies rollback in from the east during the afternoon, so the
:23:28. > :23:31.best of the sunshine in the West, temperatures no different from
:23:32. > :23:36.today. In that wind it will feel better. A lot milder in Italy,
:23:37. > :23:41.temperatures in the low teens for Ireland's next match and you can
:23:42. > :23:45.hear that live on BBC Radio Ulster if you are not lucky enough to be
:23:46. > :23:57.going there. Tomorrow night back home, more cloud around, quite
:23:58. > :23:59.breezy, some patches of snow, frost tomorrow will be more patchy and
:24:00. > :24:05.Sunday another cold day. Generally dry but some flurries, quite cold,
:24:06. > :24:09.cloudy and breezy. As we move into the new week, temperatures will
:24:10. > :24:14.start to pick up. If you don't like the cold, we expect things to
:24:15. > :24:18.gradually become less cold next week, is still quite breezy, dry
:24:19. > :24:21.start, some sunshine, hopefully double figures by the middle of the
:24:22. > :24:25.week. Cecilia, thank you. You have been
:24:26. > :24:27.warned, wrap up warm.