Family of man gunned down continue quest for justice

A WALL of silence still surrounds the killing of an innocent man gunned down in front of his young stepson after he confronted car thieves on May 8 last.

Almost eight months after Lee Kinsella was murdered in his Finglas home, gardaí are still no closer to catching his killer.

The 30-year-old, who had no criminal connections, was blasted through the sitting room window of his family home after a feud with a gang in the area.

His heartbroken family, including his nine-year-old stepson Ryan Joyce who he pushed clear of the hail of bullets, are determined his death was not in vain and have embarked on a crusade to tighten gun and bail laws.

Now, after making it through Christmas without him, his family are to celebrate New Year’s Day – Lee’s birthday – with him missing from their lives.

“You don’t live, you survive,” said Lee’s heartbroken partner of eight years, Pamela Joyce.

“Years ago if two people had an argument they might have had a fight and it would be forgotten. Now they just pull out a gun.

“It’s because of all the drugs, like cocaine and crack. They don’t care what they did.It is just so empty without him.”

Lee’s was one of 27 gun murders in the state so far this year.

Ryan, who attempted to save his devoted stepdad’s life my pressing on his bullet wounds, has never recovered from the ordeal.

The ordinary schoolboy who loved playing with his friends has become an angry scared child who refuses to go to school or mingle with other children.

“Ryan doesn’t really talk,” continued Pamela.

“He doesn’t go outside and keeps fighting with his friends. He is just very angry.

“Some of his friends’ parents won’t let him go to their house or won’t let them come here in case anything like that happens again.

“Before he was an ordinary boy. Now he is aggressive and having violent nightmares.”

Lee became one of the growing number of innocent victims killed in the state’s escalating gun violence when shots were fired through the front window of his home on Rathoath Avenue on May 8.

“Ryan held Lee’s wrist to try and stop the blood pouring out,” said Pamela.

“He keeps saying, mam I tried my best, I tried my best.”

Just weeks ago apprentice plumber Anthony Campbell was gunned down in an estate nearby when hitmen targeted crime boss Martin “Marlo” Hyland. The tradesman was working in the house belonging to the drug baron’s niece when the killers struck.

Lee’s sister Donna Kinsella has vowed to fight for justice until those involved are caught.

Letters demanding a meeting with Justice Minister Michael McDowell have flooded his office.

The family have also handed in a petition with more than 8,000 signatures calling for a change in gun and bail laws, and a website has been set up in Lee’s memory giving help and advice to families in similar situations.

Despite six arrests, no-one has ever been charged in relation to Lee’s murder.

“Lee had a quiet life living with his partner,” said Detective Sergeant Andy O’Rourke.

“He was not involved in drugs or anything like that. He was an innocent victim.

“Donna and her family have been left traumatised by this.

“We would love it if somebody with some concrete information would come forward.”

Gardaí believe the shooting relates to an altercation between Lee and a local group of youths about 18 months before his killing.

The gang are said to have crashed a stolen car in to a parked car Lee and Ryan were in, and when Lee shouted at him they attacked him with batons and threatened to shoot him.

Donna, 38, from Tallaght, said the same group returned the next morning and shot at Lee, but that he escaped with minor injuries.

Lee later dropped all charges against the accused when they agreed to call a truce.

However, he lived in fear of his life and even stayed with Donna at her home for months before returning home.

Then, without warning, gunmen opened fire on Lee through his sitting room window.

Donna said her brother was a fantastic father and loving man.

“Ryan was Lee’s son, he washed him, fed him and cared for him as a child,” she continued. Ryan called him dad.

“His death has really affected him. He can’t sleep, he has become aggressive and is scared when he hears noises in the house.

“They have killed Lee and destroyed Ryan’s life.”

Lee – who came from a family of 12 – helped care for his elderly parents Larry and Angela who died nine months apart in 2003 and 2004.

The family grew up in a two-bedroom terraced house on Abbotstown Drive, just around the corner from the fatal shooting.

Pamela, Donna and her siblings are determined to change the law.

“Anybody caught with a firearm should go straight to prison for 15 years,” added Donna, a mother-of-four.

“The people who we believe killed Lee were out on bail at the time of the incident. He went to school with them. They knew him.

“If they had been in prison the argument would never have happened and he wouldn’t have been shot.

“We want to clear Lee’s name and get justice for him.”