Man who concealed friend’s body for 19 days avoids prison
Bernard Flaherty, aged 37, of 3 Lifford Lodge, Ennis, Co Clare, admitted he put the Hassett family through “three weeks of hell” by not telling them that the body of Frank Hassett was in his shower unit at his apartment in Jun-Jul 2011.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Carroll Moran imposed a suspended three-year jail term on Flaherty for knowingly making a false statement to gardaí on Jun 24, 2011, in relation to the whereabouts of the late Mr Hassett.
Flaherty had concealed Mr Hassett’s body for 19 days before breaking down in a Garda interview on Jul 3, 2011, and admitted Mr Hassett’s body was in his shower wrapped in plastic.
Mr Hassett, aged 25, died in Flaherty’s apartment on Jun 14 after taking prescription drugs with Flaherty.
Michael Collins, defending, told the court yesterday Flaherty did not tell gardaí of Mr Hassett’s death as he believed he would be in some way blamed for it.
Gardaí were only able to identify Mr Hassett’s badly decomposed body from dental records and a tattoo.
After Judge Moran passed sentence, a relative of Mr Hassett’s said “fucking joke” and left the courtroom.
In response, Judge Moran said: “Who said that? I wish people who made comments like that would come here and do my job and send people to prison and see how easy it is.”
In his sentencing, Judge Moran said he had never come across anything like in the circumstances described in the case in his 15 years as a judge and time as a barrister.
Judge Moran said the aggravating facts in the case were the trauma Flaherty put the Hassett family through and the wasting of Garda time in what was a major policing operation.
He said that because of Flaherty’s actions, he had deprived the Hassett family of saying goodbye to their son and brother.
The judge said Flaherty had pleaded guilty and had 27 previous convictions.
He said that during the course of the search, 40 persons were interviewed, 17 statements taken, and 50 hours of CCTV footage studied in an investigation that involved between eight and 14 gardaí.
Mr Collins said the circumstances around the case were bizarre and unusual.
He said that Mr Flaherty’s remorse was genuine.
