A drug dealer was sentenced to life after being found guilty of murder and robbery by a Central Criminal Court jury in Dublin yesterday.
Anthony Buck (24), of Garrymore, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, was convicted of the murder of David Nugent (22), of Highfield Grove, Clonmel, in the grounds of the local St Joseph's hospital between 11 p.m. on July 8th and 1 p.m. on July 9th, 1996.
Buck stood impassively as Mr Justice Quirke told him: "You consciously lured a defenceless young man to a brutal and savage death and you killed him for a sum of money which he was carrying to you as you applied an evil and cancerous trade in Clonmel."
He said Buck's crime was "particularly repellent because it was so mindless, it was so callous and it was so merciless".
"And it would appear," he said, "that your unfortunate victim bore you no ill will."
Mr Justice Quirke said he was imposing the mandatory life sentence for murder and would decide the sentence for robbery on March 20th.
A jury of six women and six men found Buck guilty of the murder charge by a majority verdict of 11 to one. The jury also found Buck guilty of the robbery of cash and goods worth £825 from Mr Nugent on the same dates.
The jury verdict was delivered at 1:05 p.m. yesterday after a trial lasting three weeks. The jury had retired at 3:33 p.m. on Thursday and spent almost six hours in deliberations.
The trial heard that Mr Nugent died after sustaining 12 stab wounds and a severe blow to his head after a rock was dropped on it in the hospital grounds.
Mr Nugent was expected to meet Buck there on the night of his murder. In a witness statement to the Garda i which was not contested by the defence, Buck admitted meeting Mr Nugent there over a two-year period on a twiceweekly basis to make cannabis deals worth £500 to £600.
In statements made in Garda custody, Buck admitted the robbery of Mr Nugent was a set-up he had arranged with two other men. Following five days of legal argument, Mr Justice Quirke ruled that confession statements made by Buck while in custody were admissible as evidence.