Sligo man Ronald McManus has been sentenced to life in prison for the manslaughter of 14-year-old Melissa Mahon.
McManus, also known as Ronnie Dunbar, (44) was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury following a 25 day trial in May this year.
Mr Justice Barry White, imposing the maximum sentence for manslaughter, described Melissa as a disturbed, fragile and vulnerable child and said McManus had preyed on that fragility. He said McManus had disposed of Melissa’s body “in a manner not befitting an animal”.
He said McManus’s disposal of the body had frustrated the State’s opportunity to establish the cause of Melissa’s death. Mr Justice White said that absence of a conclusive post mortem must have weighed on the minds of the jury members when they deliberated between verdicts of manslaughter and murder.
Mr Justice White said he had observed McManus closely during the course of the trial and was of the opinion that McManus came across as “disdainful, scornful and borderline contemptuous of your surroundings and of the evidence being given”.
He also remarked that he had no doubt that defence counsel, Brendan Grehan SC, must have found McManus to be “a most difficult client”. Mr Justice White said he had given Mr Grehan an unusual degree of latitude in his cross examination of witnesses during the trial.
The parents of Melissa, Mary and Frederick Mahon, were not present in court this morning. One sister of the deceased, Leanna, stood at the back of the court room. She did not speak to reporters as she left the building.
Mr Justice White had earlier this week criticised Mr and Mrs Mahon, describing a victim impact statement as “disingenuous in the extreme” in the light of their lack of co-operation with the investigation of their daughter’s disappearance.
Today, he stated that his comments had not been directed towards Melissa’s siblings and he said he accepted and appreciated the effect the death of their sister had had on them. Mr Justice White warned that if victim impact statements were made by persons lacking bona fides then the process would be undermined to the detriment of the “victims of crime, the common good and the achievement of justice”.
McManus was placed in a witness protection programme in the UK following a drugs trial and shooting. He lived at Rathbraughan Park, Sligo and denied murdering Melissa on a date between September 14th and 30th, 2006. He was convicted of manslaughter on May 27th, 2009.
Melissa ran away from her home in the summer of 2006 and alleged abuse by her parents. She was hiding in McManus’s house for over two weeks before she was taken into the care of the Health Service Executive. She was last seen on September 14, 2006. Her skeletal remains were discovered on the shore of Lough Gill in February 2008 after McManus’s daughter, Samantha, made a statement to gardaí.
Mr Justice White said Melissa had “difficulties” at home, but any alleged abuse cannot now be established and her family were entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Mr Justice White told McManus the 14-year-old had lost her life at his hands after social workers had obtained a court order to prevent further contact between the girl and McManus. The judge said McManus had “practiced deception” on social workers by pretending to help them find the girl at a time when he was “harbouring” her in his own home.
“You were old enough to be her father.... and you preyed on her fragility and vulnerability."
Mr Justice White said the court had heard evidence that there had been a sexual relationship between McManus and Melissa and she was allegedly pregnant at the time of her death. Mr Justice White said that that assertion could not be tested and that McManus must also be given the presumption of innocence.
McManus had not acted in a panic when he disposed of the body but in a “calculated and deliberate” manner and Mr Justice White said that there were no mitigating factors in the case. Evidence of previous bad character had been given to the court earlier in the week. McManus has 13 previous convictions for crimes such as theft, assault, burglary and drug possession.
Mr Justice White said McManus had not offered a plea of guilty to manslaughter; he had shown no remorse and had offered no apology. He said he had to have regard to the disparity in age between McManus and Melissa and the “appalling breach of trust” as well as the cover up which was “part and parcel of events”.
Mr Justice White said that prosecuting counsel, Isobel Kennedy SC, had argued that the case was at the higher end of the scale of gravity while Mr Grehan had urged the court consider it to be at the lower end.
Mr Justice White said that Ms Kennedy was correct and that this was “rare and exceptional” case where the nature and gravity of the offence attracted the maximum sentence. He said that to agree with the defence in this case would be to “bring the criminal law into disrepute”.
Mr Justice White refused Mr Grehan’s application for leave to appeal conviction and sentence but allowed legal aid in the event of such an appeal.