Sligo man sentenced to life for murder

A Sligo man has been jailed for life for the murder of a retired man. Simon McGinley (30), Connaughton Road Car Park, Sligo, had denied murder but admitted the manslaughter of Eugene Gillespie (67) on September 22nd, 2012.

He had pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment of Mr Gillespie and trespass to commit robbery at his home in Old Market Street on September 19th, 2012.

The Central Criminal Court heard the manslaughter plea was not accepted by the State and a jury was sworn in for the trial, which began on March 25th.

Mr Gillespie was retired. He worked in the family shop and lived alone with his dog. He had a passionate interest in antique cars and spent much of his time at rallies.

Wrong house
Mr Gillespie was found tied up in the hallway of his home in Old Market Street by his nephew and his brother, two days after McGinley assaulted him. McGinley had called 999 the day after the assault to say a man was tied up in the house, but gardaí went to the wrong house.

He said he only went into the house to rob it and did not expect Mr Gillespie to be there. In a Garda interview, he said he punched Mr Gillespie with closed fists and tied him up before searching the house.

Mr Gillespie was not found until the following day after his partner and family became concerned they had not heard from him. He died in hospital the following day after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Unanimous verdict
The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after five hours. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan sentenced McGinley to life imprisonment, backdating it to September 29th, 2012, for time spent in custody.

He was also sentenced to 10 years for false imprisonment and seven years for burglary.