Killer fails in appeal against life sentence

A Dublin man who was jailed for life for the murder of his partner of 21 years, whom he kicked in the stomach with such force that it split her liver, has failed in an appeal against his conviction.

The Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday ruled that the judge in the trial of Derek Finlay, aged 43, gave sufficient direction on the issue of intent to the jury, who in turn decided that the accused had intended to cause the serious injury that resulted in the death of Noeleen Brennan, aged 38.

Brendan Grehan, for the applicant, had submitted there was an absence of intent on Finlay’s behalf to cause serious injury and that it was necessary for the trial judge to give some guidance to the jury on intent to cause serious injury as opposed to intent to cause moderate, or something less than serious injury.

Paul Coffey, for the State, countered that the trial judge referred to the requirement of being satisfied of an intent to cause serious injury “on at least five instances” in his charge to the jury.

In Dec 2010, Finlay was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy after a Central Criminal Court jury found him guilty by an 11-1 majority of the murder of Noeleen Brennan.

Finlay had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of the mother of his three children at his home on Knockmore Green, Killinarden, Tallaght, on Nov 15, 2008.

The court heard that Finlay admitted delivering an “unmerciful boot” to Ms Brennan, in a manner he described as akin to taking a “penalty kick”, as she lay on the ground after a violent row over Valium.

There was evidence that Ms Brennan died from shock and internal bleeding after the blow delivered by Finlay, who had some kickboxing training, compressed her liver against her spine, causing it to rupture.

Mr Grehan submitted that the “whole thrust” of the defence case was an absence of intent to cause serious injury. He said intent was something purposefully willed as opposed to an action that, whether through “misfortune” or “bad luck”, resulted in death.

Mr Grehan said the death of Ms Brennan was not the probable or natural consequence of the kick, and was rather an “unnatural consequence” and could be described as “bad luck”.

He argued that the case was not one where multiple kicks or blows had been delivered, but one where a single kick was delivered to an area not normally accepted as capable of sustaining serious injury, and this matter deserved more attention than it received from Mr Justice McCarthy.

He told the court that, in answer to a defence question, Marie Cassidy, the state pathologist, said it would not be normal for somebody to die from a kick to the abdomen.

Mr Grehan said that, in subsequent re-examination by the prosecution, Prof Cassidy agreed that if someone directed “an unmerciful boot” to a vital organ, this was likely to cause serious injury.

He submitted that the defence had correctly objected to this as there was “no evidence whatsoever” the kick was directed at the liver or any other organ, and the height of the evidence was that Finlay had delivered a kick to the stomach.

Mr Coffey told the court the kick delivered by Finlay was preceded by a number of discreet assaults.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said the court found that Mr Justice McCarthy had sufficiently directed the jury in relation to the issue of intention.

He said the court also found that the reply of Prof Cassidy in re-examination did not give rise to any grounds for appeal sufficient to set aside the verdict.