The sister of a man who was shot dead in a Dublin apartment has said she lived through a "nightmare" during a five-day search for her brother while his body lay wrapped in plastic in a suitcase inside his killer's wardrobe.
At a sentencing hearing on Monday, Nicole McCarthy said she was "baffled" and "concerned" at how Dean Caffrey, having killed her brother Sean McCarthy, continued with his life "like everything was normal".
In a statement read to the court by Nicole's aunt Lisa McCarthy, she said she and her family were devastated by the details that emerged during the trial, including that Caffrey had stolen money from her brother's pocket which he used to buy a suitcase "believing that would be my brother's coffin, his last resting place".
She described as "heart-wrenching and very disturbing" the details of how Caffrey wrapped his victim in plastic with a Spar bag over his head and a cord around his neck.
In the hours and days that followed, she said Caffrey inquired about buying a car and renting a storage unit, went to work, socialised and drank beer, all while her brother's body was decomposing in his wardrobe.
She said she will never understand why Caffrey did not ring an ambulance so that the family might have had a chance to say goodbye and have one final moment with him.
She added: "You have no idea of the life you have destroyed and the impact and ripple effect on so many people. You will never be forgiven."
She asked for the court to deliver justice for her brother, "so he can rest in peace, two-and-a-half years later, as he truly deserves".
Caffrey (38), of Beaucort, Achill Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, went on trial in October last year after he pleaded not guilty to McCarthy's murder at Beaucort on August 2nd, 2022. A jury found him not guilty of the murder but guilty of manslaughter by a majority, 10 to two, verdict.
Sean McCarthy (28), a drug dealer known to gardaí, was last seen alive when his mother Denise Duffy dropped him to Drumcondra on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022. She reported her son missing two days later but it would be another two days before the body would be recovered.
Dean Caffrey, the court heard, was a cocaine and cannabis user who had amassed drug debts that were taken on by Sean McCarthy. In payment for his debt, Caffrey allowed McCarthy to use his apartment in Drumcondra to store drugs. However, McCarthy had his own drug debts and had been the subject of threats and at least one assault in the period leading up to August 2022.
Caffrey told gardaí during interviews that on the day McCarthy died, the deceased came to his apartment carrying a gun and in an agitated state. Caffrey said McCarthy accused him of stealing heroin and threatened that if he didn't give him €5,000 he would "leave in a body bag".
Caffrey said he lunged for the gun when McCarthy became momentarily distracted by a noise and in a struggle, the gun went off, causing the fatal injury. A pathologist's report confirmed that McCarthy died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Cathleen Noctor SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Mr Justice Paul McDermott on Monday that the prosecution puts Caffrey's offending in the high culpability range, attracting a headline sentence of between 10 and 15 years.
She noted that Caffrey had discharged a lethal firearm and failed to make any effort to assist the deceased. He had, she said, treated McCarthy callously by putting a bag over his head and placing him in the suitcase.
Lorcan Staines SC, for Caffrey, pointed to probation and welfare reports that state his client had said he did not call emergency services because he believed there was an imminent threat to his life if he did. He also believed that he had acted in self defence after McCarthy brought a gun to his apartment and threatened him.
He has shown good awareness of the impact of his actions and expressed genuine remorse, Mr Staines said. In a letter handed into court, Caffrey said that he wishes he could go back and handle things differently. However, he added that he was "terrified of these people" and had reacted to an abnormal situation.
He apologised to Mr McCarthy's family and his own family, saying both had been destroyed by his and Mr McCarthy's actions that day. Mr Staines pointed out that Caffrey has been on 23-hour lockup due to an active threat to his life since he went into custody in August 2022. While in prison, Caffrey has attained a Leaving Cert qualification in maths and English and has enhanced prisoner status.
Mr Staines also handed in a number of testimonials from people who knew Caffrey, indicating that he is a "quiet and shy" person who participated in various community and charity events, helping to raise tens of thousands of euro.
His mother submitted a letter to the court saying that addiction had led her son "down a dark and dangerous path". She said he has never been violent, always avoided confrontation and has deep remorse for what happened.
Mr Justice McDermott will sentence Caffrey on March 31st.
