Pair sentenced for helping brothers evade apprehension after fatal stabbing

TWO people who were found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Tralee last November of helping two brothers to evade apprehension after the brothers had stabbed a man in “a savage” killing in Killarney in 2007 were yesterday sentenced to four years in prison, with some or all of the sentences suspended.

Thomas O’Brien, aged 33, of Pinewood Estate, Killarney and Lisa O’Sullivan, aged 28, with an address in Wellington Road, Cork, and now residing at Coolies, Muckross, Killarney, had denied but were found guilty of helping Gerard and Shane O’Riordan, of Killarney, to evade arrest after the brothers had killed James Brazier, aged 30, in a house in the Pinewood Estate on April 15, 2007.

In 2009, the O’Riordans were convicted of manslaughter and were handed down sentences of 14 years, with five years suspended in the case of Shane O’Riordan and 18 months in the case of Gerard O’Riordan.

O’Brien had driven the O’Riordans to Cork to meet with O’Sullivan.

The brothers had arrived at the home of O’Brien shortly after the killing in the early hours, the trial had heard.

He had also assisted with bringing them a change of clothing.

O’Sullivan, who had been the former girlfriend of Gerard O’Riordan, had been found guilty of making a phone call to assist the brothers escape to Northern Ireland and of trying to get a passport for them.

Neither O’Sullivan nor O’Brien had been involved in the planning or execution of the death of the late Mr Brazier, and their role was in relation to what occurred afterwards, the court was told.

Judge Carroll Moran said they had not just played dumb, but actively tried to assist the brothers to avoid apprehension after what had been “a savage manslaughter”.

However, both had acceded to requests for help from Gerard O’Riordan, a man “whom everyone agrees had a violent propensity”, Judge Moran said.

Both had co-operated with gardaí and had made attempts to persuade the brothers to hand themselves in.

O’Brien had showed great promise in school and had been a great athlete up to the age of 16 when he became involved in drugs, the judge noted.

O’Sullivan had been in a difficult relationship with Gerard O’Riordan for 11 years.

Her father Oliver yesterday gave evidence of being threatened by O’Riordan when he tried to break up the relationship.

The judge also noted a letter from her doctor saying she was pregnant.

Judge Moran sentenced both to four years in prison. In the case of O’Brien he suspended two of the four years, and in the case of O’Sullivan he suspended all four years on condition she co-operated with the probation service.