Samurai sword killer on the loose in capital
A MURDERER who brutally killed a man with a samurai sword was on the loose in Dublin last night after he was released with a fine following his arrest for being drunk and disorderly.
Stephen Henry, 41, from Belfast, went on the run after failing to return to Magilligan Prison in the North earlier this week.
But despite being picked up gardaí, he was set free by a judge as there is no European Arrest Warrant out for him. He was arrested while drunk in Dublin yesterday morning after being thrown out of a hostel and getting mugged.
Henry, who used a samurai-style sword in the murder of an acquaintance in May 2004, did not return to prison on Monday after he was granted a day-release pass to visit his family. The PSNI launched a manhunt and appealed for information into the whereabouts of the 5ft 10in killer. He crossed the border on Tuesday and was picked up by gardaí in Dublin city yesterday.
He was arrested at Merrion Road, on the city’s south side, at 8.50am on a charge under the Public Order Act for being intoxicated to an extent he might endanger himself or others. The offence can result in a small fine but no jail sentence.
Henry, who has tattoos on both upper arms and scars on his forehead and left ear, was brought before Judge Conal Gibbons at a late sitting of Dublin District Court yesterday. The convicted killer, with two cuts on his forehead, remained silent during his hearing.
Garda David Carty told the court that Henry, who is currently of no fixed abode, had been brought to Irishtown Garda station and made ‘no reply when charged’. The officer objected to bail.
However, the judge pointed out that the charge did not carry a penal sanction, just a fine, and that the High Court would not be pleased if he refused. Defence solicitor Tracy Horan said she had voiced the same concerns and she agreed with the judge. She also said she thought it would take at least a week for a European Arrest Warrant to be issued.
The defence solicitor then took instructions from Henry at the side of the court and then said her client was pleading guilty. Judge Gibbons gave him a €75 fine which must be paid within one month.
Henry was jailed for life in 2006 for murdering father-of-two John Cooke, 33, at a house in Lisburn.
Mr Cooke had been drinking and taking drugs with Henry had ‘behaved like a savage’, and had attacked Mr Cooke ‘as he begged for his life’, the trial judge had said.
‘Behaved like a savage’