Courts

Sentencing for setting fire to den causing death of boy adjourned

Mother speaks of ‘unbelievable pain’ since loss of son

Stephen Hughes’s mother, Elizabeth, leaves court after the sentencing of Dermot Griffin, of Ballyfermot Road in Dublin, who had been found guilty of manslaughter, was adjourned. Photograph: Collins Courts
Stephen Hughes’s mother, Elizabeth, leaves court after the sentencing of Dermot Griffin, of Ballyfermot Road in Dublin, who had been found guilty of manslaughter, was adjourned. Photograph: Collins Courts
Tue Jun 03 2014 - 19:00

The man convicted last month of causing the death of a boy 13 years ago by setting a children’s makeshift den on fire has a criminal record going back to 1977, a court has heard.

Stephen Hughes was 12 in 2001 when he died in a fire in the den, where he had been sleeping overnight.

Dermot Griffin (54), of Ballyfermot Road, Ballyfermot, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to manslaughter at Rossfield Avenue, Tallaght on September 1st, 2001.

A stone marks the scene of the death of Stephen Hughes on Rossfield Avenue, Tallaght. Stephen was aged 12 in 2001 when he died in the fire in a makeshift den where he had been sleeping overnight. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins
A stone marks the scene of the death of Stephen Hughes on Rossfield Avenue, Tallaght. Stephen was aged 12 in 2001 when he died in the fire in a makeshift den where he had been sleeping overnight. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins

After a 13-day trial last month, a jury of six men and six women returned a majority verdict of guilty after six hours of deliberations.

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Yesterday morning, Judge Patricia Ryan said she needed time to consider her sentence and remanded Griffin in continuing custody until June 23rd next.

Stephen's mother, Elizabeth Hughes, said her whole family had lived with the "unbelievable pain" of losing her first- born son.

In a victim impact statement read to the court she said: “He was a beautiful bright ray of sunshine. He was just a child. The last 13 years will always be the longest and saddest I have endured. I pray that from today my son will be able to rest in peace knowing that justice has finally been done.”

Previous convictions

Det Sgt Mary Fitzpatrick told Mary Rose Gearty SC, prosecuting, that Griffin’s 39 previous convictions included ones for assault causing harm, burglary and robbery. They go back to offences committed in 1977 and dealt with in the Children’s Court. In November 1996 the Central Criminal Court imposed a four-year prison term on Griffin for offences under the Firearms Act.

He also served a seven-year sentence after he was convicted of drug dealing in 1985.

Bernard Condon SC, defending, said his client was a father of four who was a heroin addict at the time of the offence. He submitted that this was not a case of an intentional act of killing someone.

Ms Gearty said the Director of Public Prosecutions put this case at the severe end in terms of manslaughter offences.

The main evidence in the case came from three witnesses who placed Griffin at the scene.

Under cross-examination, they admitted they were abusing heroin at the time and had given statements to gardaí which conflicted with their later statements and their evidence to the jury.

Ms Gearty said that a “very dramatic change” came in 2012 when one of the witnesses, Tracey Deegan, came forward and told gardaí she had lied in 2001 to cover for Griffin.

Ms Deegan (38), said Griffin, her former partner, wanted to burn the den because “he didn’t want joyriders in the area, he didn’t want guards in the area”.