State claims husband’s case over killing is ‘bound to fail’

The State has asked the High Court to strike out an action for damages brought by the widower of murdered mother-of-two Sylvia Roche Kelly.

The body of Ms Roche Kelly, from Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, was found lying face-down in the bath of a hotel in December 2007, after she met her murderer while out celebrating her 33rd birthday. She had been violently beaten and strangled.

Five years ago, Gerard McGrath, 24, Ballywalter, Knockavilla, Co Tipperary, was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to life imprisonment after admitting murdering Ms Roche Kelly at the Clarion Hotel, Limerick, on December 8, 2007.