A Dublin man was jailed for six years at the Central Criminal Court yesterday for the manslaughter of a man who was protecting the killer's former girlfriend, a former escort agency worker.
David Larkin (34), whose last address was a flat in Victoria Street, Portobello, was convicted last month of the manslaughter of a Ballymun man, Mr Michael Murphy (39), at Ivar Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin, in the early hours of March 21st, 1998.
He was also sentenced to four years, to run concurrently, for a serious assault on his ex-girlfriend, Ms Christine Hughes, on the same occasion, to which he had pleaded guilty.
The court heard that Ms Hughes, who had ended their fiveyear "on-off" relationship four weeks before the killing, feared for her life because of repeated harassment through phone calls and visits from Larkin. She had asked Mr Murphy to stay in the Stoneybatter house on the morning of his death to protect her from Larkin.
Defence counsel Mr Denis Vaughan-Buckley SC told the court Larkin was "upset and disgusted" after learning of his ex-girlfriend's business. During the trial he said he had gone around to her house that morning out of "male pride" but that he had no intent to cause serious injury to either Ms Hughes or Mr Murphy. "I went around to say I've enough now, that's it," he said.
The court was told Larkin arrived armed with a knife he had taken from his sister's kitchen, for what he claimed was "defence". After banging and shouting at the door, Mr Murphy opened the door and headbutted Larkin, who responded by taking the knife from his pocket and stabbing Mr Murphy 14 times in the stomach and neck.
Neighbours confirmed they saw or heard a scuffle between two men. Mr Murphy died on the street after being pursued by Larkin from the house. Mr Murphy suffered a fatal neck wound which sliced through a major artery behind the lung, the deputy state pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, had previously told the court.
After stabbing Mr Murphy, Larkin ran up the stairs of the house calling for Ms Hughes. After finding her hiding under a bed, Larkin pulled her out and gave her "very severe injuries". The court heard yesterday that Larkin broke Ms Hughes's nose, broke an upper tooth, stamped on her head, kicked her, and left her "like a rag doll".
Insp Christopher Kelly said Ms Hughes suffered an attack that was "consistent with a severe beating and a severe kicking" and confirmed that a victim impact report stated she lived in a "state of fear of the day Larkin was released". She had been in hospital for two weeks after the assault.
Ms Justice McGuinness said she took into account that the prisoner expressed remorse from before his arrest.