Stab killer of gay partner gets five years
A Dublin man was sentenced to five years imprisonment today for the unlawful killing of his partner during a drunken row in a flat in Rathfarnham last year.
In the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Carney sentenced Martin Merrigan (aged 34) to five years in jail for the manslaughter of Mark Egan (aged 42), at Loreto Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin on March 1 2001.
The court heard that Merrigan and Egan hid their sexuality from neighbours and people in the locality and that when he was first detained for the stab killing, Merrigan used the surname Egan and indicated that the couple were brothers.
In October, a jury unanimously accepted Merrigan's defence that he was provoked into a temporary loss of control during a jealous, drunken row with his partner. He was acquitted on a charge of murder and convicted of manslaughter.
Mr Justice Carney said today that the five year sentence would include a credit for 21 months already served to date.
