A man with previous convictions for knife crime who killed an “intruder” outside his home after he stole from the defendant’s unlocked van in the early hours of the morning has been jailed for nine years.
Sentencing 38-year-old Patrick Murphy at the Central Criminal Court, Justice Kerida Naidoo said the defendant had expressed his remorse through his counsel and in writing.
However, the judge said this was difficult to reconcile with leaving the victim, Jordan Ronan, dead on a public road and failing to call an ambulance. “But I do accept he regrets his actions,” added the judge.
Naidoo said there was victim impact evidence that Ronan was “an exceptionally likeable” and well-loved member of a close family. He said one of the tragic circumstances of the case is that at the time of the victim’s death, he and his partner were expecting a baby, who will now never know their father.
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The judge said the introduction of a knife was an aggravating factor and he didn’t accept a defence submission that this was not the case.
Last December, a jury at the Central Criminal Court found Murphy, of Drumcairn Parade, Tallaght, not guilty of murder, but returned a unanimous verdict of manslaughter, in line with his plea before the trial began.
Speaking outside the Criminal Courts of Justice building, the victim’s father, Stephen Pakenham, made a statement on behalf of the Ronan-Pakenham family, saying: “We won’t accept the jury’s verdict, the evidence was overwhelming. A coward of previous convictions for knife crime got away with killing our son. We think the system is flawed, the footage shown to us couldn’t have been any clearer and it’s going to stick with us forever.
“We think the jury got this wrong. The coward watched Jordan collapse on the road after stabbing him from behind. He then cowardly ran into his home and didn’t call an ambulance. The coward showed no remorse for his actions.
“Jordan never got the chance to experience adulthood. He never got a chance to be a father to his baby girl. He was so excited for his future with his partner and his baby. It was taken from him.
“His memory will live on forever and he will always be with us. Jordan is more of a man then that coward ever will be. Jordan will never be forgotten and we will live our lives with the love, strength and compassion he showed us each day.”
Father of four Murphy admitted stabbing 20-year-old Ronan, causing his death on July 26th, 2024, but maintained he was defending his family and property.
Murphy has 31 previous convictions, including those for the possession of “knives and other articles”, possession of drugs for sale or supply, assault causing harm, and 10 convictions for traffic offences.
The court heard how Murphy’s dogs had alerted him to the presence of Ronan in his front driveway after 3am, with the deceased observed on CCTV getting in and out of the defendant’s newly-bought van.
Murphy then rushed barefoot out of his home into the street armed with a kitchen knife – telling gardaí in a statement he stabbed the person in the front seat of his partner’s car and said: “Come on, get the f**k out of here.”
Doorbell camera footage that captured the fatal encounter recorded Murphy telling his partner in the aftermath that the deceased was “breaking into our car”.
The court was told Murphy could be heard to say: “I’ve stabbed him to bits,” on the footage, which was recovered by gardaí from his partner’s phone after Murphy removed the camera from his door and hid it in a settee.
In February at Murphy’s sentence hearing, the court was told the defendant was on 23-hour lock up for his own protection, after an alleged “punishment” attack in jail left him with facial wounds requiring two dozen stitches.
Before sentence was imposed, Patricia McLaughlin, prosecuting, told the judge that Murphy has been in protective custody since December 11th last but this was at his own request.
Passing sentence, Naidoo referred to “the attack” in prison, where Murphy received “a severe laceration to his face” requiring 25 stitches. He said the defendant had been in protection since then and his family had to move from their home after the killing.
He noted the defendant’s difficult upbringing and that he had first used cocaine at 14 years old.
Having regard to the guilty plea to manslaughter, which was offered in advance of the trial, as well as other mitigating factors, the judge reduced the headline sentence from 14 years to 10.
He sentenced Murphy to 10 years in prison but said he would suspend the last year for a period of two years. The sentence was backdated to when he went into custody on July 26th, 2024.
He extended his “very significant sympathy” to Ronan’s family and friends.
