A CO WICKLOW man was jailed for life at the Central Criminal Court yesterday after he was convicted of the murder of his father who was stabbed nine times in their home.
Thomas Heaney (28) was found guilty on November 20th of the murder of his father, Mr Peter Heaney (59), a fitter, at their home at Marian Villas Arklow Co Wicklow, on October 9th, 1994.
Mr Justice Budd adjourned sentence until yesterday to allow preparation of reports. He ordered a report on the effect of the murder of Mr Peter Heaney on members of his family and a medical report on the convicted man.
In court yesterday, the judge was presented with the reports and said that when someone is sentenced to life imprisonment the public was "entitled to know something of the background which may not have come to light during the trial".
The judge said that while the sentence for murder was a mandatory life term, he saw no reason why the court should not look at the effect on the family of the deceased.
Mr Justice Budd read a report by Dr Nick Buggle, the Heaneys family doctor, which said the defendant had suffered depression due to a road traffic accident and his mother's death.
His mother had had a history of physical and other illness and he took most of the responsibility of caring for her as his father and brother were working. Following her death in 1991, he was prescribed more medication for the added depression.
Dr Ann Leader, a consultant psychiatrist, had reported that there was hope for Heaney in the future, the judge said. He ordered that all the reports be sent to the Minister for Justice and her officials when the decision is being made on where Heaney was to be detained.
The eight-day trial heard that Mr Peter Heaney died from shock and haemorrhage compounded by an accumulation of blood in the sac around the heart. This was due to a stab wound in the chest.
The prosecution contended that Thomas Heaney stabbed his father to death as Mr Heaney was sleeping in a chair following a night's drinking.
In his evidence to the court, Thomas Heaney said he had stabbed his father during a violent struggle and he was "afraid for his life" at the time.
He said his father was involved in a relationship with another woman while his mother was dying of cancer and had continued that relationship after his mother died in May 1991. He and his father had had rows over this relationship.