A DUBLIN man has been found guilty of killing his partner and the mother of his three children while on a family holiday in Spain more than three years ago.
Paul Hickey (31), Darndale, appeared in court in Elche in the province of Alicante yesterday. He faces a 15-year sentence for beating Celine Conroy (26) to death, convicted on the charge of homicidio, a lesser offence than murder.
For 10 years after his release, Hickey will be barred from contacting or coming within 500 metres of his children, Shane (12), Chloe (9) and Leah (5). A total of €60,000 will be paid to each child and €40,000 each to Ms Conroy's parents, Davy and Sandra Conroy.
Ms Conroy, from Dublin's north inner city, was found dead on the floor of a villa at the Marina Oasis holiday complex in San Fulgencio on the Costa Blanca on August 28th, 2005. Hickey has been in custody in Spain since.
In the Palacio de Justicia de Elche yesterday, before Judge Gracia Serrano Ruiz and a jury, Hickey admitted killing Ms Conroy.
Under questioning from the state prosecutor Pablo Romero, Hickey denied causing Ms Conroy more suffering than was necessary to bring about death. He agreed he was fully in control of his faculties at the time of the assault.
The court heard that diazepam was the only drug found in his system.
A plea bargain was entered on Hickey's behalf and the Conroy family was informed. The lawyers came to an agreement on a 15-year sentence which was rubber-stamped by the jury. Hickey is expected to be formally sentenced within days.
Speaking briefly to the Spanish court through an interpreter, Hickey, who was handcuffed, said he was sorry for everything that had happened. His interpreter provided him with a simultaneous translation of what was said in court throughout yesterday's proceedings.
On the steps of the courthouse last night, Ms Conroy´s parents, flanked by their current partners, thanked the media and their Galway-based solicitor Tony McGinty, who Ms Conroy said had "never asked the family for one penny" after hearing her on a radio programme.
She described her daughter as an ordinary girl who had only ever had one boyfriend, Hickey.
"We knew we were going to get justice," she said. "The main thing now is to get back to Ireland and look after the children. They're ours now, they're our responsibility."
The state prosecution had originally asked for Hickey to be jailed for 20 years on a murder charge.
The Conroy family, represented by Spanish solicitor Carlos Baño León, had asked for a 15-year sentence with €125,000 to be awarded to each child and €90,000 to Ms Conroy's parents.
Hickey's lawyer, Julio Mompó Cotoló, had asked for a 10-year sentence on a homicidio charge, with €30,000 to be awarded to each child and €20,000 each to Ms Conroy's parents.
It was originally thought that the two eldest children of Hickey and Ms Conroy would be called to give evidence in the trial. However, the day before the extended Conroy family was due to travel to Spain they learned that the children would not be called. Their original statements were given to the jury.
The jury also had access to a statement from Hickey's aunt, Norah Armitage, who called at the villa the morning after the assault. The villa is in an area is popular with holidaymakers, mainly Irish, British and German.
A large group of relatives and friends accompanied the Conroys on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Alicante on Tuesday. They stayed in a hotel in Orihuela.
The trial had been expected to last until Monday.