A DUBLIN man who is already serving a 12-year sentence for the attempted murder of his friend has now been convicted of his murder in a landmark case.
Jonathan Dunne (26), Windmill Park, Crumlin, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Ian Kenny at Lakelands Road, Stillorgan, on July 31st, 2009. He now faces life in prison.
Mr Kenny, a father of two, remained in a vegetative state and died in Beaumont Hospital two years after the incident.
It had happened outside a row of shops in daylight on July 4th, 2007.
Dunne was already serving a 12-year sentence for Mr Kenny’s attempted murder when he died in hospital. He then faced a new trial for his murder – the first case of its kind since the law changed in 1999.
Mr Justice Paul Carney thanked the jurors for their careful attention before excusing them for life from further service.
Until 1999 a person could not be tried for the murder of a person who survived longer than a year and a day. That law was changed, thus making Dunne the first person in the State to be tried for a murder in which the victim died outside that timeframe.
Victim impact statements will be heard at the sentencing hearing on February 27th when Dunne will be formally given the mandatory term of life in prison.