Man gets nine years for killing girlfriend and hiding her body

A mechanic has been sentenced to nine years in prison for killing his girlfriend.

Bernard Curran, aged 53, of The Weir, Lucan, Co Dublin, admitted shooting dead Helen Donegan, aged 30, in his garage in Castlebagot. Curran also admitted hiding the mother of one’s body in the boot of a car for seven weeks.

The father of two had originally been charged with murdering the Ballyfermot native between May 4 and June 22, 2010. However, the prosecution accepted his plea of not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. He was sentenced by the Central Criminal Court yesterday.