THREE MEMBERS of the same family were jailed yesterday for beating to death a 46-year-old man outside his Derry home following a wedding reception in Redcastle, Co Donegal, on May 5th, 2007.
The three were jailed for a combined total of 28 years for their part in the murder of father of four Jim McFadden in Moyola Drive in the Shantallow area of Derry.
James Meehan (39), who is originally from Kells, Co Meath, was jailed for 14 years after a jury unanimously found him guilty of the primary murder of Mr McFadden.
His wife Brenda Meehan (40), was jailed for five years and her son Seán Devenney (23), was jailed for nine years. They were both found unanimously guilty of the secondary murder of their victim.
The sentences handed down at Derry Crown Court yesterday are the minimum term each will serve before they’re considered suitable for release by the life term commissioners.
All three lived at Dundrean Park, Derry, and during their 2½ month-long trial, their home was damaged in an arson attack. Mr McFadden’s widow Ita, who was accompanied by her children Ashling (18), Danielle (17), Séamus (15) and Gareth (12) at the sentencing hearing and who together with her children was present during the murder, walked out of court in a distressed condition when Mr Justice Bernard McCloskey announced Brenda Meehan’s five-year sentence.
The murder victim died from a ruptured heart when he was kicked and stamped on the chest. Those convicted of murdering Mr McFadden had attended the same wedding reception as their victim. All three are to appeal their convictions.
About 40 family members and friends of the victim attended yesterday’s sentencing hearing. No members of the defendants’ families were present.
Mr Justice McCloskey said he took into consideration, when sentencing Brenda Meehan, the impact her imprisonment would have on her four younger children.
“In some respects, it is difficult to imagine a more unique case. The younger Meehan children must be viewed by this court in a humane and compassionate manner. Almost incredibly they have abruptly been deprived of both parents and the association of their older brother. They will now be reared by other adults.
“Their upbringing will take place in an unnatural environment. I consider that I must take into account the pain, anguish and shame which this will inevitably inflict on their mother. On balance, the seasoning of justice with mercy seems to me appropriate in these highly unusual circumstances,” he said.
The judge added that the unprovoked attack on a defenceless, vulnerable man had instilled terror and fear in the victim’s wife and children who were present at the time of the murder.
“The killing of Mr McFadden has deprived a devoted wife and four relatively young children of a loving, devoted husband and father for the remainder of their lives.
“The impact on the McFadden family was manifest throughout the trial and is discernible also in the sad and poignant language of the victim impact statements,” he said.
Describing the attack on Mr McFadden as “prolonged and brutal”, Mr Justice McCloskey paid tribute to those people who attempted to save the victim’s life, among them two young men who prayed over Mr McFadden as he lay dying outside his home.