A 16-year-old Co Laois boy who murdered a 14-year-old boy was sentenced to life in prison in the Central Criminal Court this morning.
Darren Goodwin, of Graigue, Mountmellick, Co Laois, was found guilty last July at the Central Criminal court of murdering Daragh Conroy, who was hammered to death for his mobile phone.
Goodwin had pleaded not guilty to the murder at Briar Lane, Mountmellick, on November 11th, 2003.
Passing sentence this morning, Mr Justice Barry White called Mr Goodwin a "danger to society." He refused leave to appeal, ruling that the matter should be reviewed on the tenth anniversary of the trial, in July 2014.
Goodwin, dressed in a blue tracksuit, sat silently and without expression throughout the sentencing. The stoic demeanor was in contrast to his body language before the proceedings began, when he was fidgeting and clearly nervous.
"You killed an innocent 14-year-old boy in a premeditated, vicious, brutal and callous manner," Justice White told Goodwin.
"You deprived Daragh Conroy of life at a time when, in the normal course of events, he would have had his entire life before him. You have devastated the life of his mother, who will grieve to her dying day for her only child. You have brought shame and disgrace upon your family. [Your mother] will be branded for the rest of her life as a parent of a murderer. And you have ruined your own life."
Justice White said by pleading not guilty to the charges, Goodwin gave the court the opportunity to observe his attitude and demeanor.
"Your attitude was one of total indifference to what was going on... You showed nothing but scorn for this trial in particular and society in general," he said.
"It has been urged upon me that you are remorseful," said Justice White, but had that been the case, he added, "that remorse would have manifested before the trial.... I find it hard to believe that any expression of remorse from you is real or genuine."
Goodwin's face did not change when Justice White passed the sentence of imprisonment for life. His mother cried briefly.
Justice White brought attention to questions of motive during the sentencing, saying he was worried about evidence that had emerged during the trial - that the killing of Daragh may have been a "trial run" for the killing of a garda - would not be seen if the case went to the Court of Criminal Appeals.
He said evidence for the possible motive was obtained by the "attitude... and views expressed by the client and other juveniles, including [Goodwin's] friends and friends of the deceased."
He said the motive may have been theft, a trial run for the eventual murder of a member of An Garda Siochana or a combination of both. The defence argued that the matter was excluded from evidence and was not tested.
Justice White also said Goodwin was "certainly a danger to his father."
A psychologist who met with Goodwin reported that, when asked why Daragh Conroy was chosen, the accused said he "was in the wrong place in the wrong time. Had he not been there, [Goodwin] said he would have killed his father instead."
Asked if he would trade the life of Daragh Conroy for the death of his father, Goodwin said he would.
After the sentencing Justice White, speaking to Goodwin's mother Ms Olive Goodwin, said: "I am not a man with a heart of stone. I too have young children and I know exactly how you feel. I would like to express my sympathy to you."
Daragh's body was found on waste ground in Smithsfield, Mountmellick, shortly before midnight on November 11th, 2003. He had suffered "six separate blows to his head", five of which were "inflicted in rapid succession . . . with considerable force" while he was lying on the ground, the State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, told the court during the eight-day trial.
The jury of five men and seven women found the youth guilty by a majority of 11-1 last July.