Mountjoy prisoner ‘lured’ fellow inmate to cell and murdered him – The Irish Times

A Mountjoy inmate has been convicted of murdering a fellow inmate after a jury agreed to charges that he “lured” him to his cell, knocked him to the ground and stomped on his head in a “vicious and unprovoked” attack.

The jury of nine men and three women at the Central Criminal CourtIt took just under three hours for David Dunne, 40, to be unanimously found guilty of murder, with his last address being Summerhill, Dublin 1.

Dunne had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Robert O’Connor on July 29, 2022, at Mountjoy Prison. He claimed he did not intend to kill Mr O’Connor and the jury was asked to consider whether he honestly believed he acted in self-defence when he caused multiple blunt force injuries to the deceased’s head, torso and trunk. arms and legs.

A pathologist’s report and neuropathological examination showed that the blows to Mr O’Connor’s head caused his brain to spin, leading to the rupture of nerve cells. The injuries were consistent with stomping, punching or kicking.

Members of Mr O’Connor’s family burst into tears and hugged each other as the verdict was announced. Dunne will face a mandatory life sentence when he is sentenced on December 16, after Mr O’Connor’s family have had a chance to speak about the impact the murder has had on their lives.

In a brief statement after the jury’s verdict, a garda involved in the investigation told the court that Mr O’Connor was born in Britain to an Irish father and English mother. The family returned to Ireland when Mr O’Connor was still a small child. He had a half-brother and a half-sister, while his mother died in 2008.

When he died, Mr O’Connor had been in a relationship for a year. His death has had a “dramatic and serious” effect on his girlfriend’s health, according to the Garda.

The jury heard that Mr O’Connor, 32, was given a prison sentence on July 27, 2022 and was returned to Mountjoy by the court that evening. At about 7pm, Mr O’Connor was attacked in his cell by a number of other prisoners, leaving him with a bloody nose and damage to one eye.

After the attack, Mr O’Connor was taken into protection for a while and moved to C landing.

Two days later he walked to the prison’s C2 crossing, where CCTV footage showed him entering Dunne’s cell, followed by Dunne and three other men.

Prison officers responded quickly when they heard a commotion and one told the trial he saw Dunne stomp on Mr O’Connor’s head more than once, while another officer saw the defendant kick the victim in the head.

The victim was taken to hospital, but he was pronounced dead on August 1 when brain stem testing revealed no activity.

Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan told the trial that Mr O’Connor died from multiple blunt trauma-type injuries associated with bruises and abrasions to his head, torso, legs and arms. He also suffered a broken nose.

Dr. Mulligan said the blunt trauma caused a rotational force that led to the rupture of nerve cells in the brain. She added: “The skull is a rigid structure, so if an impact occurs, the brain will move within this rigid structure but will not have much room to move, so the rotation of the brain will cause the nerve cells to rupture. or stripped of the rotational force.”

According to her, the injury could have been caused by stomping, punching or kicking.

In his first Garda interview, the suspect read from a prepared statement in which he said: “I’m sorry for his family, I really am. Since this happened, I think about it every day and night. It breaks my heart because he was a good friend to everyone who knew him. I’m really sorry Robbie, yes to you and your family,” he said.

In his closing address, prosecutor Michael Delaney SC described Dunne’s story as “self-serving” and lacking credibility. He accused Dunne of a “vicious and unprovoked attack” and said CCTV footage suggested “an element of coordination” in the interactions visible between Dunne and three other inmates in the minutes before the fatal encounter.

Brendan Grehan SC said on behalf of Dunne that the killing was not deliberate or planned but was “effectively a response” without any premeditation. He asked the jury to return a verdict of manslaughter.

Madam Judge Mary Ellen Ring told the jury that in order to find Dunne guilty of murder they had to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not honestly believe that he was acting in self-defence and that when he attacked Mr O’Connor, he intended to kill or at least cause serious injury.