Butcher given life in jail for murder

A BUTCHER has been jailed for life after he was found guilty last month of murdering a shopkeeper and father-of-two in Arklow in November 2009.

Anthony Farrell, aged 20, of Marian Villas in Arklow, had denied murdering 48-year-old John Deasy at Brauder’s newsagents on the main street in the town, after he had robbed €50 from the till.

Mr Deasy died in the doorway of the newsagents after his shop assistant, Kay O’Connor, screamed for help when Farrell appeared wearing a balaclava, wielding a kitchen knife and demanding money.