The family of a man who died after being kicked and punched as he lay defenceless on a Cork road have said the four-year sentence handed down to his killers does not represent justice.
Ricardo Hoey (21), of Ardcarrig, Carrigaline, and Jordan Deasy (20), of Ravensdale, Heron’s Wood, Carraigaline, were charged with the murder of Matt O’Neill on December 28th, 2022 at Glenwood Estate in Carrigaline. A Central Criminal Court jury last April returned verdicts of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for both.
Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford on Wednesday sentenced Hoey and Deasy to seven years but suspended the last three years of their sentences. She warned them that they would end up back in prison should they reoffend.
Mr O’Neill had left his home in Carrigaline on the evening of December 28th, 2022 to go to a shop to buy wine. Hoey and Deasy were travelling through the estate in a car and claimed Mr O’Neill stood waving the bottle in front of the vehicle and would not move off the road.
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Hoey got out of his car and pushed Mr O’Neill, who fell to the ground, and Deasy then punched him twice and Hoey kicked him once in the head. The pair then left the scene in the car.
Mr O’Neill died in hospital 11 days after the attack, having never regained consciousness, and Ms Justice Lankford said the actions of Hoey and Deasy had effectively ended his life.
Hoey told his mother an altercation had taken place and presented himself to gardaí within an hour of the incident. Deasy went in to hiding and was arrested on December 31st, 2022. The judge noted that during questioning the men accepted their behaviour was cowardly and unnecessary. She said an “aggravating factor” in the case was that Mr O’Neill was “entirely defenceless”.
“They had an opportunity to retreat and they did not take it. The violence they used was entirely unnecessary and gratuitous.”
In mitigation, the judge said Hoey and Deasy were teenagers at the time, the assault was brief, their actions were not premeditated and no weapon was used. Hoey, a scaffolder, had no previous convictions while Deasy had 11, including one for assault causing harm.
The judge accepted that both men were remorseful and Deasy in particular understood the pain caused to the O’Neill family as he is also an only child. Ms Justice Lankford offered her condolences to the O’Neill’s on the loss of their only son.
Speaking outside the court, Mr O’Neill’s father, Pat, said the sentence imposed in the case was far too lenient.
“Matt was punched and kicked in a mindless, senseless, cowardly act as he lay defenceless on the road. While no sentence can bring our son back, life is precious and fragile and should be protected. The sentence handed down today does not amount to justice. They killed our son and they received four years,” he said.
“We call on our Minister of Justice to review the sentencing and legislation for these brutal attacks. As a result of this attack our only son is dead. Respect for the lives of our young ones is not enhanced by insufficient consequences for those who live by a violent code.”
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