A man who shot his sister dead in a tragic accident has been jailed for two years.
Derek Boyd (28) told gardaí that by killing his 36-year-old-sister – a mother of five - through an accidental discharge of an illegally-held loaded semi-automatic pistol last March, he committed “an unpardonable sin” for which he will pay for the rest of his life.
The court heard he had sourced the semi-automatic pistol and live rounds of ammunition because he was concerned for his own and his family’s safety as a result of threats made to him.
Boyd pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last month to the manslaughter of his sister, Sandra Boyd, at his home in Collins Place, Finglas, Dublin on March 19th this year. He also admitted unlawful possession of a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition.
Shattered family
At an earlier sentence hearing, his mother, Teresa Boyd, asked the judge to let her son out of prison. She said the fatal shooting shattered their family and left her son “broken beyond compare”.
“He will relive this nightmare for the rest of his life. He will struggle to live his life. I wish I could turn back time and have all my children be with me,” she said.
Judge Pauline Codd on Friday said this was “a tragic, serious and unusual case”. She noted Boyd would have to live with the fact that he had killed his own sister for the rest of his life. But she said the court must mark the gravity of taking up illegal arms, whatever the pressures.
Judge Codd noted the irony that, by taking the law into his own hands and acquiring a firearm that he did not know how to use safely, Boyd had inflicted the loss on his family which he had feared would be visited on them by others.
'Shell of a man'
She read from a letter handed into court by Boyd in which he outlined how he was a “shell of a man” since these events and regretted lowering himself to pick up a firearm in the first place.
He said that procuring a gun had been the “biggest mistake of my life”.
Judge Codd noted the “double emotional wrench” on the Boyd family not only in losing their much loved daughter, sister or mother; but also the “awful vista” that her death was caused by the actions of Boyd, their son or brother. She noted the devastating impact of the events on the Boyd family.
She took into account the testimonials from Boyd’s family which she said spoke of the love and respect they have for Sandra and Derek. She noted he is at low risk of homicidal reoffending.
The judge said there were exceptional circumstances in the case which allowed her to depart from the presumptive minimum sentence of five years for the firearms charges. She also took into account the close relationship between the siblings, his remorse and the forgiveness of his family.
Judge Codd imposed a five year sentence with the final three years suspended for the firearms offences and four years with the final two years suspended for the manslaughter. She ordered that both sentences run concurrently and backdated to when he went into custody in March.
Judge Codd extended the sympathy of the court to all those who knew and loved Sandra Boyd.
