An "institutionalised" prisoner who was convicted of murdering a fellow inmate by luring him to a cell, knocking him to the ground and stamping on his head in a "vicious and unprovoked" assault, has been given a life sentence.
Passing sentence on repeat offender David Dunne (40) on Monday, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring noted that “no explanation for the decision to kill Robert O’Connor has ever been proffered and that the “violence was totally unwarranted”.
At his trial in the Central Criminal Court last month, David Dunne, with a last address in Summerhill, Dublin 1, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr O’Connor (34) on the July 29th, 2022 at Mountjoy Prison, North Circular Road, Dublin 7.
A jury, however, took less than three hours to unanimously convict him.
The prosecution case was that CCTV footage played in evidence during the trial showed Dunne luring the victim into his cell. The prison officer on duty at the time said he heard a yell followed by a cry of “No, no” which was followed by silence.
He gave evidence that he saw Dunne stamp on the victim's head more than once.
Prison officers called an ambulance which brought Mr O'Connor to the Mater Hospital, where he was put on life support. He didn't regain consciousness and was pronounced dead three days later.
The court heard that David Dunne has amassed 123 convictions since 1998. At the time of the killing, he was serving a four and a half year sentence for robbery and other offences and was due to be released just a few days before the attack on Mr O'Connor.
Miska Hanahoe BL, for the defendant, told the court that Dunne was placed in State care when was a very young child, had been in and out of care his whole life and was now institutionalised.
She added that Dunne “wants to make clear that he accepts he is responsible for Robert’s death but that he did not intend to kill him."
Ms Hanahoe asked if Dunne could serve his sentence in Dublin as his mother was unwell and unable to travel to visit him.
Passing sentence, Ms Justice Ring noted that Dunne had had a long and difficult life. She imposed the mandatory life sentence for the murder of Mr O’Connor, adding that the victim's family will "serve their own life sentence" due to Dunne's crime.
"When violence takes a child from a parent, no explanation is enough. Robert O’Connor was in prison to pay his debt to society. David Dunne took his right to life away," Ms Justice Ring said.
Ms Justice Ring noted that the family's selfless decision to donate Mr O'Connor's organs speaks about the kind of person he was, noting that it provided some comfort to his family to know that part of him lives on though others.
The judge also noted that Dunne’s mother had previously said that if help was not given to her son, there would be dire consequences, but now it was Mr O'Connor and his family who have paid the price. She said Mr O'Connor’s family were totally innocent in this "sad, sad, sorry event".
Ms Justice Ring said she would impose the life sentence from the date Dunne went into custody on this matter on September 1st, 2023 and wished the victim's family well as they go forward.
Victim impact statement
A victim impact statement on behalf of the victim's sister Kylie Kinahan was read out by prosecuting counsel, Michael Delaney, SC.
She wrote that Mr O'Connor was a loving, caring brother and that he would never leave a room without a "hug and a kiss". She said when she last spoke to him, he was full of chat and in good spirits, telling her he loved her.
Ms Kinahan said the sight of her "baby brother" lifeless in the Mater hospital still haunts her and described how she suffered nightmares knowing how he ended up in ICU.
She described watching CCTV footage of her brother walking and acting normal before he went into the cell where he was killed and how she wanted to "jump into the screen" and tell him to run but she couldn't.
She said Robert was a loving uncle to her children and she was disappointed he would never get to have children of his own.
Ms Kinahan said to have her brother taken away in a brutal, unnecessary way meant that part of her that would never heal and for that she said she will "never forgive". She said she wakes up from her sleep crying and gasping for air.
The deceased’s father Leo O'Connor described how as a child, Robert used to love fishing and family picnics in St Anne’s Park in Dublin and how much he loved horses as a child. He said he still talks to Robert every day, looking at his photograph from when he gets up with a morning cup of coffee.
He said he still can’t believe his son is gone, adding: “I miss him, I miss him, I miss him every day.”
Previous evidence
The trial heard that 32-year-old Robert O'Connor received a prison sentence on July 27th, 2022, and was returned from court to Mountjoy that evening.
At approximately 7pm, Mr O’Connor was assaulted in his cell by a number of other prisoners, where he suffered a bloody nose and damage to one eye. He was then placed in protection for a period and was moved to C landing.
Two days later he walked to the C2 landing of the prison where CCTV footage showed him entering Dunne's cell followed by Dunne and three other men.
Prison officers quickly reacted when they heard a commotion and one told the trial that he saw Dunne stamping more than once on Mr O'Connor's head, while another officer saw the defendant kicking the victim in the head.
The victim was taken to hospital but he was pronounced dead on August 1st, when brain stem testing revealed no activity.
Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan said that Mr O'Connor died from multiple blunt force trauma type injuries associated with bruises and abrasions on his head, trunk, legs and arms. He had also suffered a fractured nose.
Dr Mulligan said the blunt force trauma caused rotational force which led to a tearing of the nerve cells in the brain.
In his first garda interview, Dunne read from a prepared statement in which he said: “I’m sorry for his family, I really am. I think about it every day and night since this happened. It’s killing me inside because he was a good friend of all who knew him. I’m really sorry Robbie yeah to you and your family,” he said.
He claimed that he just wanted a "chat" with Mr O'Connor but once they were inside the cell, Mr O'Connor punched him twice. He initially admitted only to punching back and denied stamping on Mr O'Connor's head. He said he didn't want to kill Mr O'Connor and claimed to have struck him with a "rabbit punch".
The defendant claimed he did not intend to kill Mr O'Connor and that he was acting in self-defence when he caused multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the deceased's head, torso, arms and legs.
The prosecution argued Dunne's final account "evolved" until in his final interview, counsel said Dunne demonstrated a "stamp" that it was submitted could easily have caused the injuries sustained by Mr O'Connor.
In his closing speech, prosecution counsel Michael Delaney SC described Dunne's account as "self-serving" and lacking in credibility.
He accused Dunne of a "vicious and unprovoked assault" and said CCTV evidence suggested "an element of coordination" in the interactions visible between Mr Dunne and three other prisoners in the minutes before the fatal encounter.
Counsel said the footage suggested that when Mr O'Connor arrived on Dunne's wing of the prison, the accused signalled to one of those prisoners. Once Mr O'Connor and the accused went inside the accused's cell, Mr Delaney said the others followed as if they "knew something was going down".
Mr Delaney said the CCTV undermined Dunne's claim that he invited the deceased to his cell for a "friendly chat" or that he acted in self-defence after being attacked by the deceased.
"The objective, reliable evidence shows that Dunne lured Robert O'Connor into that cell for the purpose of attacking him," Mr Delaney said.
