The nine-year-old son of a man who died after he was stabbed in his own home has said he is “very sad” that he will “never see his daddy again”.
The young child described how his father had given him a teddy bear named Blue and asked caregivers if his Daddy’s soul was in his teddy now.
Isaac Horgan (52) died after a stab wound to his leg “nicked” an artery and he bled to death at his home in Dublin two years ago.
A victim impact statement from Mr Horgan’s son was read to the Central Criminal Court on Monday during a sentencing hearing for Noel Lennon, who pleaded guilty to Mr Horgan’s manslaughter, and a co-accused Lisa Lee, who was found guilty last December of discarding the knife used to stab Mr Horgan.
Lennon (49) of Alexandra Court, Dundrum, Dublin was originally charged with the murder of Mr Horgan at his home in Markievicz House, Townsend Street, Dublin 2, on March 29th, 2021.
However, when his case came before the Central Criminal Court last year, the accused pleaded not (NOT) guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter and the State accepted this plea.
Lee, of no fixed abode and formerly with an address at Depaul Homeless Hostel, Little Britain Street, Dublin 7, had denied that on March 29th, 2021 at Spring Garden Lane in Dublin, knowing or believing that Noel Lennon had caused serious harm to Isaac Horgan, she discarded the knife used by Lennon.
Discarded knife
She was initially tried on the basis that she discarded the knife knowing or believing that Lennon had killed the deceased, but the charge was changed during the trial when it was established that Mr Horgan died after Lee had disposed of the knife.
She was convicted by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last December.
The statement from the child was prepared with the help of an allocated social worker, the court heard.
The court was told the nine-year-old has an acquired brain injury which occurred in utero and has been diagnosed with autism. He has lived with foster parents whom he calls Mam and Dad since shortly after his birth.
The child, was described in the report as a “fun and friendly boy”, and the report noted the loss of his father will have a “lasting impact” on him.
The statement said that while the child has never met his birth mother, he had had consistent contact with his father, Mr Horgan, until he was seven.
The social worker who prepared the report said the little boy understands that Daddy Isaac is in heaven and said he is very sad that he will never see his Daddy again.
Like a brother
The sentencing hearing was told he deceased and Noel Lennon were friends and Lennon considered Mr Horgan, whom he visited regularly, as like a “brother” to him.
Lennon told gardaí that on the day of the stabbing he went to Mr Horgan’s house to smoke crack cocaine. The court heard that while the post-mortem report confirmed Mr Horgan did have intoxicants in his system, there was no evidence of crack cocaine.
During interviews with gardaí, Lennon claimed the deceased had attacked him with a claw hammer and said a struggle ensued during which he stabbed Mr Horgan in the leg. However, the court heard there was nothing to suggest Lennon had been involved in a struggle with Mr Horgan other than the stab wound sustained by the deceased.
Detective Garda Patricia Whelan from Pearse Street Garda Station told Shane Costello SC, for the DPP, that on the morning of March 29th, Mr Horgan went to the local post office where he collected his welfare allowance of almost €200 and bought some modest purchases before returning home.
He confirmed to Mr Costello that aside from a figure of €22, the balance of that allowance was never recovered.
Bleeding heavily
The court heard that at 10.42am, a 999 call was made to emergency services by Lisa Lee who said someone had been injured and was bleeding heavily. During the course of the call, she handed the phone to Lennon who gave the exact location of where Mr Horgan was.
When emergency services arrived at the scene, Mr Horgan was still alive and a towel had been used as a tourniquet in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Attempts were made to treat Mr Horgan at the scene, but these were unsuccessful, and he passed away a short time later.
Det Garda Whelan confirmed that when emergency services arrived, the door to the flat was unlocked and there was no sign of a forced entry and no outward signs of struggle within the small flat.
CCTV footage
CCTV footage obtained showed Lennon enter a methadone treatment centre shortly after the emergency phonecall was made where he was seen handing a SIM card from the phone used to make the 999 call to another man. The court was told that had the matter gone to trial, the court would have heard evidence from the man that Lennon had told him to throw the SIM card away.
Lee was seen walking past the treatment centre and CCTV showed her throwing something over the hoarding a building site. The knife used in the stabbing was subsequently recovered from the scene during a search by gardaí.
The court heard that both Lennon and Lee, who were in a relationship at the time, then took the Luas to the address in Dundrum where they were living.
A search was performed at their home the day after the stabbing and a handset belonging to Mr Horgan was found.
Lennon and Lee were subsequently arrested and interviewed.
Lennon told gardaí Mr Horgan had attacked him with a claw hammer and in defending himself he had stabbed Mr Horgan in the leg.
He said he had no intention to kill or cause serious injury to Mr Horgan and got a cloth in an attempt to try and stop the bleeding.
Det Gda Whelan confirmed that Lennon told gardaí he and Mr Horgan were friends, that the deceased was like a brother to him and that and he would call to him once or twice a week.
Autopsy
She agreed with Mr Costello that the autopsy showed that as a result of the single stab wound, the artery in Mr Horgan’s leg had been “nicked” and he “effectively bled to death”.
The detective garda confirmed there was nothing to suggest Lennon had been involved in a struggle with Mr Horgan other than the stab wound sustained by the deceased.
She told the court a claw hammer was found at the scene and there was no evidence Lennon had brought a knife to the flat.
The court heard Lennon has 12 previous convictions, including a number for drugs possession and one for robbery. He has been in custody since his arrest on March 30th, 2020.
Lee has 17 previous convictions, including one for possession of knives and one for robbery. She has been on bail since her arrest and remained on bail following her conviction in December 2022.
Ronan Munro SC, defending Lee, said reports before the courts in respect of Lee highlighted her “chaotic lifestyle” and her “traumatic background”. He said she got into drugs when she was in her 30s and had got clean but then experienced a relapse.
Injecting heroin since 14
Damien Colgan SC, for Lennon, said his client was had received little formal education and had started injecting heroin when he was 14. He had set up his own business delivering coal and worked as courier for some years but following the death of his father and the break up of a relationship, he had relapsed back into drug addiction.
Mr Colgan said Lennon is addressing these issues in custody and told the court Lennon has a number of severe medical issues.
He asked the court to take into consideration Lennon’s plea of guilty. He pointed out that the single stab wound had nicked an artery and Lennon had attempted to create a tourniquet to stem the flow of blood.
He read a letter from Lennon to the court in which he said he was “truly sorry” for the terrible events that happened on March 29th, 2021.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt directed that probation and welfare reports be prepared and adjourned the matter to June 19 for sentencing.
