A Newry man has been jailed for life for the murder of Co Down teenager Paul Owens, who was stabbed to death in the seaside town of Newcastle in the early hours of February 26th last year.
David Kennaway, from Kenard Villas in the city, was to have gone on trial at Downpatrick Crown Court yesterday for the killing of the 18-year-old.
Following lengthy discussions involving both sets of lawyers, defence QC Mark Mulholland returned to court yesterday and applied to trial judge Mr Justice Stephens for his 27-year-old client to be rearraigned. When the charge of murder was put to Kennaway, he stood and replied: “Guilty.”
Prosecution QC Frank O’Donoghue, having thanked the court for the time allowed, told Mr Justice Stephens that because of the plea, a trial was no longer necessary, and that the offence of murder carried only one sentence, life imprisonment.
Mr Justice Stephens told Kennaway that since he had pleaded guilty to murder, he was “obliged” to sentence him to imprisonment for life.