Hammer killer jailed for life to be freed

A 26-year-old Laois man jailed for life as a teenager for hammering a boy to death will be released in less than two years, after his trial judge reviewed his sentence.

Darren Goodwin, formerly of Graigue, Mountmellick, was 16 when he was sentenced to life in prison for the 2003 murder of 14-year-old Darragh Conroy.

Due to his age, the life sentence was not mandatory. However, Mr Justice Barry White used his discretion in imposing it, after hearing all the details, including that Goodwin had “wanted to kill someone”.

A jury had found Goodwin guilty of the crime following a trial at the Central Criminal court in July 2004. He had pleaded not guilty to the murder at Briar Lane, Moutmellick, on November 11, 2003.

Darragh Conroy’s mother had told the court that she had been searching for her only child for hours that night, ringing the phone she had bought him just weeks earlier so that they could stay in touch.

His body was found on waste ground in Mountmellick, shortly before midnight. He had suffered six separate blows to his head, five inflicted in rapid succession with considerable force while he was lying on the ground.

State pathologist Marie Cassidy said his skull “had been broken up and was like a jigsaw with some of the pieces fallen out”.

Mr Justice White fixed a release date of July 1, 2016, but directed that Goodwin receive the services of a psychotherapist twice a week in prison.

He said he was not satisfied the issue of remorse had been fully addressed.