A Dublin man and woman have been sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to 10 years each for the manslaughter of a 54-year-old separated father of three.
Christopher Geraghty (35), Knowth Court, Poppintree, Dublin, and Tanya Lamb (27), Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin, both pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Anthony Jordan.
The deceased man died at his flat in Balbutcher Lane, Ballymun, Dublin, between May 10th and 11th, 2003.
His badly beaten body was later found by gardaí on May 12th. Lamb had been the girlfriend of the deceased at the time.
Prosecuting counsel Mr Michael O'Higgins SC told the court that on the night of the fatal incident, the deceased and his girlfriend, Lamb, and Geraghty were drinking in his flat. A row broke out, Mr O'Higgins said, and in the course of the altercation the deceased received seven injuries to his head from a hockey stick and a domestic mop. Det Sgt Matt Murphy said Mr Jordan "existed unconscious" for four hours, in which time the two accused left the flat some time after midnight.
Two hours later, the two accused returned to the flat, leaving the deceased in the same position, and went to bed.
The body of Mr Jordan was not discovered until May 12th when gardaí received a 999 call from an unidentified woman.
Addressing the accused pair, Mr Justice Carney said while Mr Jordan was clearly dying, the two accused "abandoned him", and that would remain with the family. "If he had received intervention, he would be still alive today," he added.
The judge said he would have to take into consideration the accused pair's previous convictions. Geraghty had one previous conviction for firearm possession and Lamb had 23 previous convictions including offences for violence and threatening behaviour.