The killer of three Irishmen who died in their flat in the Netherlands deserves to stay in jail for the rest of his life, his trial in The Hague has been told. Describing his crimes as "vile and sickening", the State Prosecutor, Ms Johanna Reddingius, yesterday said Mike Braxhoof den (23) should be jailed for life for the murders last April of Vincent Costello (29) and his brother Morgan (21) from Tipperary and their friend Damien Monahan (24) from Ennis, Co Clare.
His accomplice, Ronald van Bommel (20), inflicted multiple stab wounds on the men minutes after they had been shot and helped to mutilate and attempt to burn the bodies.
Ms Reddingius said they must be kept in prison for at least 16 years. They had been deemed sane and must therefore must be held responsible for their actions. Ms Reddingius said there was sufficient evidence from psychological reports and their criminal history to show that both would commit serious crimes again.
Braxhoofden has admitted carrying out the killings while on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.
Braxhoofden said yesterday: "I feel deeply sorry for the relatives, I cannot believe I did this but when I was smoking pipes of cocaine I went into a twilight zone." Van Bommel claimed he acted out of terror of his friend, believing he would be killed if he refused to help.
A Dutch lawyer, Mr Michael Mantz, said the apartment where the men died was a meeting place for drugs-dealers and other criminals. Guns, including heavy-duty weapons, were found there. Damien Monahan had given friends details about his drugs contacts in Ireland and drugs transports he had been involved in. Vincent Costello was registered with the police in Amsterdam for drugs possession, the court has been told.
Mrs Nora Monahan and Mrs Margaret Costello were again in court yesterday.
In a statement before their return to Ireland, they said: "Vincent, Morgan and Damien were good, kind and caring boys. They were very close and cherished family members".
They had no comment to make about those responsible for their murders.
The three-judge court will give its verdict on November 14th.