A HOMELESS man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a pensioner with a fire extinguisher, leaving him with a fragmented skull before trying to set him on fire.
Stephen Byrne (36), described in court as an alcoholic and drug addict, was found guilty of murdering William Traynor (69) in his home on St Francis Terrace, Bow Street, on June 17th, 2007.
Both murderer and victim knew each other from using the Capuchin Day Centre on Bow Street, where they received free meals twice a day from the religious order. Afterwards, the director of the centre, Brother Kevin Crowley, said justice had been done.
Firefighters found Mr Traynor semi-conscious on the evening of June 17th after being called to a small fire at his house. He died two days later in Beaumont Hospital, where a neurosurgeon put his injuries at 10 on a scale of one to 10. “No treatment could have saved him,” said Dr Donnacha O’Brien, describing the injuries as horrendous and widespread.
Byrne told the court he “lost it” and “saw red” after Mr Traynor “provoked” him by spraying fire extinguisher foam at him as he walked by the pensioner’s front door. Byrne said he shoved him into the house, where he assaulted him with the extinguisher. He left an hour later and went “on the piss”, leaving the elderly man lying on the ground.
State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy said Mr Traynor’s death was due to head injuries. A heavy blow or blows from a heavy object resulted in a fragmented skull and brain injury.
There was fire damage to his head, she said, with his hair, moustache and left eyebrow singed, and burns on his face and neck.
The day after the attack Byrne told a security guard he had tried to set his victim on fire.
After a trial lasting more than three weeks at the Central Criminal Court, the jury took six hours and five minutes to reach a unanimous verdict. They had also been given the opportunity of finding him guilty of manslaughter.
Mr Traynor died in poverty in the house in which he was raised. Although he owned his home, at the time of his death it was unfurnished, plaster had been removed from inside walls, the floor had been dug up in places and the toilet was outside.
Speaking afterwards, Brother Kevin said: “This is something that should never have happened Willie. He was a character, a generous, kind man, who was loved by all. He was very much a part of our centre.”
Brother Kevin congratulated gardaí on what he said was the wonderful way the case was handled. He also said he witnessed “the great kindness they showed to Stephen during the investigation”.
Alcohol had been cited as a possible defence, but Brother Kevin said Byrne had no signs of being drunk when he met him the morning after the attack or whenever he met him in the centre.
“We don’t have sufficient places for people with drinking problems to be hospitalised,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest difficulties I see at the moment.”
He said of the hundreds of people who use his centre every day, about half have alcohol problems. He had seen a huge increase in the number of users in recent months.
Byrne’s sister sobbed as her brother was led away to begin his life sentence.
Mr Traynor’s elderly cousin, Vera Foley, who attended the entire trial, was comforted by Brother Kevin.