‘Every woman’s worst nightmare’: Man gets 22 years for Jennifer Dornan killing

The “callous” killer of a west Belfast mother-of-three home was on Friday told he will spend a minimum of 22 years in prison for the “barbaric and brutal” murder.

In an act described as “every woman’s worse nightmare”, Raymond O’Neill followed Jennifer Dornan to her Hazel View home in the early hours of August 2nd, 2015.

Once inside, he stabbed Jennifer three times in the chest then set her bedroom on fire in a bid to destroy forensic evidence.

After murdering the 30-year old, O’Neill then went on a drinking binge in Belfast before fleeing to the Republic, but was arrested in Donegal five days later.

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O’Neill (44) denied both murdering Jennifer and setting fire to her home, and stood trial at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year.

During the trial, O’Neill claimed he suffered from memory loss after being poisoned by prison staff in Dublin. He said he did not kill Jennifer — despite claiming to have no memory of the weekend in question — and told the jury “take it from me, I didn’t kill anybody. I’d like to think anybody who killed somebody could remember it.” His claims of innocence were rejected by the jury, who returned unanimous guilty verdicts on both charges.

O’Neill — who at the time was 37 and living in Amcomri Street in Belfast — was given a life sentence in April. On Friday he was informed he will serve a minimum jail term of 22 years in prison before he is considered eligible for release.

Mr Justice David Scoffield said after considering the many aggravating factors, it was appropriate to set a higher tariff. These factors, the Judge said, included starting a fire in Jennifer’s bedroom which “degraded her remains, added further insult to her killing and deprived her family of a body to be mourned over and buried in the usual way”.

He described Victim Impact Statements made by Jennifer’s mother, sister and her father’s partner as “heart-wrenching”, adding: “They underscore that the actions of the defendant robbed a loving family of someone deeply precious to them — most of all Jennifer’s three young children.”

Saying he was “unable to identify any mitigating factors”, the Judge noted that O’Neill has displayed no remorse and refused to engage with the Probation Board before sentence.

Also noted was O’Neill’s extensive criminal record which included previous offences for burglary, theft and assault.

After the sentence was imposed, Ciaran McQuillan, of the PPS, said: “O’Neill has shown a callous disregard for Jennifer’s family throughout by continuing to deny what he has done.

“Despite his conviction for her murder, his denials mean we still do not know why he targeted Jennifer or the full circumstances in which she died.

In a statement her family said. “No sentence today can ever be enough for what he did. We have a life sentence. A life sentence without our Jennifer ... Her children miss their mum, and will grow up without her. It is nearly seven years since Jennifer was killed. To us, it feels like it was yesterday.“

“We cannot stop thinking about the fear Jennifer must have felt. What he did plays over and over in our minds. It has been made worse by his actions.”