Nephew sentenced to life in jail for uncle’s ‘heinous murder’
THE niece of a 78-year-old widower kicked and stamped to death told a court of “the chilling reality of evil so close to home” as his nephew was jailed for life.
Niamh Higgins, whose uncle was severely beaten by Thomas Lorigan (34) to the point where he was “unrecognisable”, said the “cruel loss” of pensioner John O’neill to this “heinous murder has plunged us into a whirlwind of raw feelings”.
She told the Central Criminal Court: “Feelings we find ourselves wholly unprepared for — overwhelming grief, despair, trauma, including a pervasive fear stemming from the chilling reality of evil so close to home”.
Ms Higgins said that to think of the injuries “being inflicted by a stranger” would be
“horrendous” but knowing it was a family member who carried out the murder is “beyond torture”.
Ms Higgins, who is the daughter of Mr O’neill’s last remaining sibling Marie Kellett, said the murder of her uncle had left “a hollowness” in their lives “that words struggle to fill” and that the deceased was “more than just a statistic of crime; he was the core of our family, a dear friend and the soul of the community in Lisdoonvarna. His grá for life was infectious”.
“John’s great love and sense of caring for all his sisters throughout his life was commendable. He was there for them and their families, regardless of the ask or cost to himself,” she added.
The trial heard that Mr O’neill had regularly helped another sister,
Geraldine, and provided financial assistance if needed when she split up with her husband. When Geraldine passed away, Mr O’neill had acted as a guardian for her three children — including his killer Lorigan, who was around 12 or 13 years old at the time.
Ms Higgins said the pathology evidence given at trial which detailed “the brutality of the violence inflicted” on her uncle left “an everlasting mark that has intrinsically changed us forever”.
Loop
“The CCTV evidence plays like a constant loop in our minds, capturing the inhumane, cold-hearted attack on John,” she said “Our whole family would like to know why you would do this to John.
“The fact that John was killed in the family home, where four generations have happily lived till now, amplifies the impact for
us all.”
The testimony was heard as part of three emotional victim impact statements read yesterday to the Central Criminal Court, where Lorigan was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering his uncle, with the sentence backdated to January 8, 2022.
Sentencing judge Mr Justice Paul Mcdermott said it is clear that the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment exists “from the nature of the offending in this case and the brutality in the way” Mr O’neill was killed.
“Anyone who saw the CCTV footage of what was done to Mr O’neill will not forget it,” added the judge.