Life in jail for man guilty of Melanie murder
A man has been jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering Melanie McCarthy-McNamara.
16-year-old Melanie was shot dead in a parked car outside a house at Brookview Way, Tallaght almost two years ago.
It took the jury just under four and a half hours to find Daniel McDonnell of Brookview Lawns, Tallaght guilty of Melanie's murder today.
Melanie died from a single shotgun wound to the head as she sat in the car with her boyfriend and another man. It is believed she was not the intended target.
Some graffiti scribbled on the wall of a holding cell and two letters written from prison were used by the prosecution as evidence against Mr McDonnell.
One of the letters read: "That other thing wouldn't have happened if I'd known she was in the car."
Melanie's godmother read out a victim impact statement on behalf of the family. She described how Melanie "loved life" and how her loss has devastated everyone who knew her.
McDonnell showed no emotion as her words were read out before Mr. Justice Paul Carney sentenced him to life behind bars.
