A former Ukranian bodyguard has been jailed for three years for the assault and false imprisonment of a young Romanian man whose body was found dumped in a suitcase in Dublin's Royal Canal in July 2001.
Igore Derjhack (30) was also sentenced to one year's imprisonment for being an accessory, after the fact, to the murder of Mr Adrian Bestea (21) on or about July 8th, 2001 by helping dispose of his body.
Derjhack had been on trial for the murder of Mr Bestea at the Central Criminal Court but today in court he was re-arraigned and pleaded guilty to the lesser charges which were accepted by the State.
Imposing concurrent sentences on the accused, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill said Mr Bestea had been the victim of a "tragic tale" of "appaling violence".
"It is quite clear that you took part in all of these events except the final event that led to his death," the judge told Derjhack. "This appears to have occurred when you left the flat," he added.
The court heard that Mr Bestea was beaten to death in a Sandymount flat after his girlfriend, Ms Marina Sourovtseva, arranged with Derjhack and two other men to "rough him up" because he was beating her.