Bite man gets life for killing.Byline: By JIMMY CUNNINGHAM A MAN who beat a woman to death with a hammer and then slit her throat was jailed for life yesterday. John O'Neill, from Mercer Street, Dublin, murdered Rosemary Dowling at his flat in October 2005. The 57-year-old pleaded guilty to manslaughter manslaughter, homicide committed without justification or excuse but distinguished from murder by the absence of the element of malice aforethought. Modern criminal statutes usually divide it into degrees, the most common distinction being between voluntary and but a jury found him guilty of the murder. O'Neill's legal team claimed he flipped after Ms Dowling, 49, bit his penis during sex. Her naked body was found wrapped in bedclothes near his flat in the early hours of Tuesday, October 25. Sheila Dowling, the victim's younger sister described the "horrible effect" the murder had on the entire family. She said the brutal killing was "especially hard" for Rosemary's two children - the eldest of whom is doing her Junior Cert. She said her younger child, who is 11, speaks about her mother every day. The Central Criminal Court heard how Ms Dowling, an alcoholic, ran a second-hand record store on Aungier Street and knew O'Neill. She met her killer after he went on a day-long drinking session. During interviews with gardai, Mr O'Neill said they arrived back at his flat just after 7.30pm. He said they drank wine and beer before having sex. O'Neill claims Ms Dowling began hitting and scratching him before she bit his penis. He said he completely lost it and "saw red". O'Neill claimed he then picked up a lump hammer A lump hammer or club hammer is a heavy one-handed hammer with a double-faced head. It is useful for light demolition work, driving masonry nails, and for use with a steel chisel when cutting stone or metal. beside the bed and beat her head. But he told the court he couldn't remember cutting Ms Dowling's throat and went "blank". After the gruesome grue·some adj. Causing horror and repugnance; frightful and shocking: a gruesome murder. See Synonyms at ghastly. killing he wrapped her body up in several layers of bedclothes. He then showered, dragged the bloodied armchair to a nearby lane before trying to set fire to it. O'Neill then dragged the body outside and left it where he knew "someone would see it". Mr Justice Paul Carney Mr Justice Paul Carney is one of the most senior judges of the Irish High Court and the presiding judge of the Central Criminal Court. He is widely regarded as a leading expert on Irish criminal law and has presided over murder and rape trials since his appointment to the High sentenced O'Neill to the mandatory life sentence and backdated it to October 27, 2005. CAPTION(S): GUILTY: John O'Neill |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion