Teen gets life in jail for murder of Melanie
Melanie was shot in the head as she sat in a car with her boyfriend and his friend in Tallaght two years ago.
McDonnell, 19, of Brookview Lawns, Tallaght, had pleaded not guilty to her murder on Feb 8, 2012 at nearby Brookview Way.
However, a jury of six men and six women yesterday reached a unanimous verdict of guilty, following a seven-day trial at the Central Criminal Court.
The trial heard that a stolen black Hyundai Santa Fe had pulled up alongside the car in which Melanie was sitting in the back seat. A shot was discharged from inside the Hyundai and Melanie was hit in the head.
Her boyfriend, Christopher Moran, and his friend, Seán Byrne, rushed her to hospital. However, she died a short time later due to the wound to her left temple.
The Hyundai was found abandoned and out of fuel in Citywest shortly after the shooting. The stolen sawn-off shotgun and two discharged cartridges were recovered nearby. There were no fingerprints on the vehicle, weapon or cartridges.
McDonnell was one of two men arrested on suspicion of the murder the following week. He was detained at Tallaght Garda Station and made no comment to questions in more than a dozen interviews. Instead, he daubed incriminating graffiti on his cell wall.
A few weeks later, while detained in St Patrick’s Institution, McDonnell continued to brag about his involvement in the murder, this time in two letters.
McDonnell’s barrister had described his client’s writings as “rants to his friend and girlfriend”. However, the prosecution said there was no explanation for the letters other than as admissions of guilt.
After four hours and 17 minutes deliberating, the jury reached a unanimous verdict of guilty.
Melanie’s godmother, Jennifer Roche, then gave an emotional victim impact statement on behalf of the teenager’s family. “Our Melanie was a girl who lived life and never got a chance to live it,” she said. “They should have taken us too.”
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