A MAN who brutally robbed and killed 83-year-old Christy Hanley in Co Westmeath last year will be sentenced next week.
Mr Hanley was tied up and beaten to death in his home. He was well-known at fairs and horse races in the midlands, and was often seen with large amounts of cash.
Last May, a Central Criminal Court jury found Noel Cawley (47), of no fixed abode, but with a previous address in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Hanley in his house on Bridge Street, Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, on May 21st, 2008. He was also convicted of robbing Mr Hanley of an unknown sum of money.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy heard evidence in relation to sentencing yesterday and adjourned his final decision until next Friday, July 10th.
At the trial, Cawley had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Hanley, and Mr Justice McCarthy reduced the murder charge to manslaughter, taking the view that there was “a reasonable possibility that he [the accused] did not intend to cause serious harm”. Mr Hanley was found dead on the floor of his home with his hands and feet tied tightly behind his back, his trousers pulled down and a coat thrown over his head.
He had been severely assaulted and suffered multiple blows to his head, shoulders, arms and legs. Medical evidence revealed that blood from his injuries obstructed his breathing. The 83-year-old also suffered from a heart condition.
Det Sgt Eamonn Curley told Alex Owens SC, prosecuting, that a week before his death Mr Hanley was seen with €10,000 in cash. After his death gardaí found only €5 in his house.
Cawley has 12 previous convictions for offences including theft, burglary, larceny, malicious damage, road traffic offence and attempted rape. He was convicted in 2002 at the Central Criminal Court of the attempted rape of a female motorist who had given him a lift in Longford in August 1999. He was sentenced to eight years with one year suspended, and released from prison in April 2005.
Det Sgt Curley described the defendant as a “transient individual” with no employment record. He is the father of two teenage children.
Cawley knew the deceased, and on the day of the killing travelled from Mullingar to Killbeggan. Cawley came into contact with his victim in various pubs around the town that day, and was later seen lurking outside Mr Hanley’s home.
Det Sgt Curley said that at about 6pm Mr Hanley was at home and appears to have let Cawley into the house. There was no evidence of a forced entry. Cawley then launched his vicious assault.
He left Mr Hanley’s house and flagged down motorists for a lift back to Mullingar. He was seen with a bundle of notes, which were never recovered, and appeared to be in a panicked state.
Cawley went to Dublin the next day and rang Tullamore Garda station from a public telephone on Abbey Street at about 9am to report that Mr Hanley was tied up in his house. Gardaí forced entry to Mr Hanley’s home and discovered his body.
Cawley then went to Belfast and caught a ferry to the UK. He later returned to Ireland and was arrested on O’Connell Street in Dublin on June 24th, 2008. He conceded that he knew the deceased, but denied any involvement in his death.
Mr Hanley’s niece, Breeda Harvey, read a statement on behalf of his extended family. “The entire family are shocked and sickened at the unnecessary violence that was unleashed upon Christy. He was an 83-year-old man, 5ft tall and of slight build. He posed no threat to Noel Cawley as he was unable to defend himself from such a brutal and sadistic attack in his own home.”
Ms Harvey thanked gardaí in Kilbeggan for bringing Cawley to justice, the witnesses who came forward and the community of Kilbeggan for their support.
Defence counsel, Patrick Gageby SC, said “some attribution of decency” should be given to his client for telephoning gardaí. That act, he said, was “inconsistent” with a cool and calculated plan.