A Cork man has been sentenced to eight years, six of which were suspended, after he was found guilty of the rape and manslaughter of beautician Rachel Kiely in October of 2000.
At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday a jury found Ian Horgan (22), Innismore Square, Ballincollig, Co Cork, guilty of the rape but not guilty of the murder of Ms Kiely (22) on October 26th, 2000, at the Regional Park in Ballincollig.
Horgan, who showed no signs of emotion when the verdict was read out, had admitted the manslaughter at the beginning of the trial, but had denied Ms Kiely's rape and murder.
Shortly before lunchtime yesterday the jury of five women and seven men reached a verdict of guilty of rape on a majority decision of 10-2, after just over four hours. The jury also found him not guilty of murder.
Horgan was originally convicted by a jury in June 2002 of rape and murder but the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the conviction in December 2004 and ordered a retrial.
After the sentence was passed, David Dunlea, who is married to Rachel Kiely's sister, Roselyn, said the Kiely family were disappointed with what they considered a lenient sentence. Mr Dunlea added that they were glad the matter was now over, and called on the media to respect the family's privacy. The family opted not to give a victim impact statement to the court.
Horgan, who lived close to but did not know his victim, did not give evidence during the three-week trial.
Mr Justice Barry White told the jury its verdict was the one he would have reached "had he been in their shoes". He sentenced Horgan to eight years for both the rape and the manslaughter, and ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
He acknowledged that Horgan had spent 4½ years in custody since November 2000. He said this was in effect the equivalent of a six-year sentence. As a result the judge suspended the last six years of the term and ordered the sentence to date from today.
The judge said he had to take into account Horgan's age (he was 16 at the time of the offences) and that he had no previous convictions.
Mr Justice White acknowledged that the Kielys would not be pleased with the sentence, but hoped they could appreciate the position he was in.
He told Horgan that his conduct had "devastated the Kiely family and their wider circle of friends", as well as having a detrimental effect on his own.
He also told him the fact that former State Pathologist Prof John Harbison became ill and was not able to give evidence was perhaps to Horgan's benefit.
He said the pathological evidence given by Dr Marie Cassidy based on photographs was "less forceful". That, he suggested, was unfortunate from the Kiely family's point of view.
Horgan was described by Det Sgt Dennis Cahill as a promising athlete. He won All-Ireland medals for running, but left school at the age of 15. He said the Kiely and Horgan families had moved from their respective homes since Rachel's death.
He said that in 2005, while on bail, Horgan was convicted of burglary, assault and being in possession of stolen property.
During this retrial the court heard that in October 26th, 2000, Ms Kiely, a member of the Jehovah's Witness community, went missing after taking her dogs for a walk in the park.
The alarm was raised when the dogs returned home without the her. Following an extensive search, her body was discovered on rough ground near the ruins of an old building.
Gardaí interviewed Horgan, who admitted being in the park that evening, as part of their inquiries into Ms Kiely's death.
In statements to the gardaí Horgan denied harming Ms Kiely. Forensic evidence showed that the DNA of semen found on the dead woman's body matched his.
Dr Cassidy said in her report that Ms Kiely had died as a result of pressure being applied to her neck.