Man jailed for eight years for killing woman in Co Westmeath

A retired member of the defence forces has been jailed for eight years at the Central Criminal Court for killing a woman whose body was found in a bog nine days after she went missing.

In July 2015, Jimmy Devaney (67) of Millbrook Avenue, Monksland, Athlone was acquitted of murdering Marie Greene in Co Westmeath in 2011 but found guilty of her manslaughter.

The father-of-three had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Marie Greene in Westmeath on February 13th, 2011.

A jury of six women and five men returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter after four hours and 23 minutes of deliberations.

The court heard that Marie Greene, who was working as a prostitute, was last seen alive on the evening on February 13th, 2011 and her body was discovered nine days later in Anagorta Bog outside Athlone.

Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan told the court on Monday that this case merited a custodial sentence of 11 years, but she imposed an eight-year custodial sentence and backdated this to July 30th, 2015, the day the jury returned their verdict.

Speaking outside court following the sentence hearing, the older sister of Marie Greene, Theresa Greene, said she was not happy with the sentence handed down.

Ms Greene said Devaney “should have got more” and she hoped he “died in prison. We will never see our sister again, it is hard on us but harder on my poor mother.”