Judgment reserved in Scissor Sister’s appeal

A DECISION in an appeal brought by Dublin woman Linda Mulhall to have her 15-year sentence reduced for the manslaughter of her mother’s boyfriend, whose body was cut up and dumped, has been put off until the new year.

Yesterday, the three-judge Court of Criminal Appeal reserved judgment in an appeal brought by the mother of four against the severity of the sentence imposed on her by Mr Justice Paul Carney in 2006.

The court, comprising of Ms Justice Fidelma Macken, presiding, sitting with Mr Justice Roderick Murphy and Mr Justice Eamonn De Valera, said they were reserving judgment.

Ms Justice Macken said it was hoped that they would be in a position to give judgment “as soon as possible”, but added that the court had several other judgments under consideration.

In October 2006, Linda Mulhall was found guilty of the manslaughter of Farah Swaleh Noor in 2005, after a drinking session at the home of their mother, Kathleen Mulhall, in Summerhill, Dublin.

Her sister, Charlotte Mulhall, who was found guilty of Mr Noor’s murder is appealing against both her conviction and the life sentence she received.

At the court counsel for Linda Mulhall, Brendan Grehan SC, said that the sentencing judge, Mr Justice Carney, had erred by imposing a sentence that was excessive. Counsel said that after his client was found guilty, the matter was adjourned to December for sentencing. Psychiatric and probation reports were to be prepared for the sentencing judge by that date.

However, these were not ready in time. In the absence of such reports Mr Justice Carney went ahead and imposed a 15-year sentence on Linda Mulhall.

Counsel argued that such reports carried substantial weight when a judge comes to formulate sentence, and that a sentence should not have been passed until the reports had been completed. Opposing the appeal, counsel for the DPP, Tom O’Connell SC, said that Mr Justice Carney had taken all mitigating factors into account before passing sentence.