Hanley killer to be sentenced next week
A man who brutally robbed and killed an 83-year-old man in Co Westmeath last year will be sentenced next week.
Christy Hanley was tied up and beaten to death in his home. He was well known at fairs and horse races in the midlands and was often seen with large amounts of cash.
In May a Central Criminal Court jury found Noel Cawley (aged 47), of no fixed abode, but with a previous address in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Hanley in his house on Bridge St, Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath on May 21, 2008. He was also convicted of robbing Mr Hanley of an unknown sum of money.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy heard evidence in relation to sentencing today and adjourned his final decision until next Friday, July 10.
At the trial, Cawley had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Hanley and Mr Justice McCarthy reduced the murder charge to manslaughter, taking the view that there was “a reasonable possibility that he [the accused] did not intend to cause serious harm."
Mr Hanley was found dead on the floor of his home with his hands and feet tied tightly behind his back, his trousers pulled down and a coat thrown over his head.
He was severely assaulted and suffered multiple blows to his head, shoulders, arms and legs. Medical evidence revealed that blood from his injuries obstructed his breathing. The 83-year-old also suffered from a heart condition.
Detective Sergeant Eamonn Curley told Alex Owens SC, prosecuting, that a week before his death Mr Hanley was seen with €10,000 in cash. After his death gardaí found only €5 in his house.
Cawley has 12 previous convictions for offences including theft, burglary, larceny, malicious damage, road traffic offence and attempted rape. He was convicted in 2002 at the Central Criminal Court of the attempted rape of a female motorist who had given him a lift in Longford in August 1999. He was sentenced to eight years with one suspended and released from prison in April 2005.
Det. Sgt. Curley described the defendant as a “transient individual” with no employment record. He is the father of two teenage children.
Cawley knew the deceased and on the day of the killing travelled from Mullingar to Killbeggan. Cawley came into contact with his victim in various pubs around the town that day and was later seen lurking outside Mr Hanley’s home.
Det. Sgt. Curley said that at around 6pm. Mr Hanley was at home and appears to have let Cawley into the house. There was no evidence of a forced entry. It was then that Cawley launched his vicious assault.
He left Mr Hanley’s house and flagged down motorists for a lift back to Mullingar. He was seen with a bundle of notes, which were never recovered, and appeared to be in a panicked state.
Cawley travelled to Dublin the following day and rang Tullamore Garda Station from a public telephone on Abbey Street at around 9am. to report that Mr Hanley was tied up in his house. Gardaí forced entry to Mr Hanley's home and discovered his body.
Cawley then went to Belfast and caught a ferry to the UK. He later returned to Ireland and was arrested on O’Connell Street in Dublin on June 24, 2008. He conceded that he knew the deceased but denied any involvement in his death.
Mr Hanley’s niece, Breeda Harvey, read a statement to the court on behalf of his extended family. “The entire family are shocked and sickened at the unnecessary violence that was unleashed upon Christy. He was an 83-year-old man, five foot tall and of slight build. He posed no threat to Noel Cawley as he was unable to defend himself from such a brutal and sadistic attack in his own home.
“This monster shows no remorse for what he has done to Christy. He pushed his way, uninvited into the lives of our family in pursuit of his own gratification and ended the life of an extraordinary, kind, respectful old man who is sorely missed."
Defence counsel, Patrick Gageby SC, said “some attribution of decency” should be given to his client for telephoning gardaí. Mr Gageby said that that act was “inconsistent” with a cool and calculated plan
