Murderer from Cork apologises to victim’s family

A former heroin addict convicted of murdering his friend during an argument over drugs turned to the bereaved family and said “I’m sorry, I didn’t set out to do this,” at his sentencing hearing yesterday.

Peter Jackson, aged 41, of Kerryhall Rd, Fairhill, Cork, was found guilty on November 13 of murdering Wexford man David Hamilton, aged 31, on May 4, 2012, at a house on Kerryhall Rd.

Jackson was given the mandatory life sentence by Justice Isobel Kennedy at the Central Criminal Court. During the brief sentencing hearing, Mr Hamilton’s uncle Robert Denby read a victim impact statement that described the family’s suffering since David’s death.

Mr Denby said the “world came crashing down” and that when they rushed to his bedside after hearing he had been stabbed, “it never entered our heads that someone so big and strong and full of life could die. No words can express how brokenhearted we are.”

Detective Garda Michael Dolan of Gurranabraher Garda Station also spoke at the hearing. Speaking with counsel for the prosecution Tom O’Connell SC, he said that Mr Jackson has 73 previous convictions dated from February 17, 1998, to February 2015. He said most were for road traffic and public order offences while he had 17 convictions for theft and burglary.

His most serious conviction was for sale or supply of heroin for which he was given a three-year sentence in 2008.

Speaking to defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC Det Gda Dolan also agreed that Jackson had shown remorse and had co-operated with the garda investigation.

Mr McGinn also pointed out that Jackson had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder. This plea was not accepted by the prosecution.

Justice Isobel Kennedy told Jackson that he had been convicted of murder and that she was giving him the mandatory sentence of life. She backdated the sentence to May 4, 2012, when he first entered into custody.

As prison officers led him away Jackson turned to Mr Hamilton’s family and said: “I’m sorry about this, I really am. I didn’t set out to do this. I’m sorry.”

During the trial, the court heard that Jackson and Mr Hamilton were heroin users who went to a house on Kerryhall Rd on May 4, 2012, to inject heroin.

Pamela McHale, aged 26, from Cork, who was a friend of Jackson, told the court they had bought two bags of heroin earlier that day worth €50 each.

An argument started after Jackson had cooked up the first bag of heroin and injected himself and Ms McHale but had difficulty finding a vein to inject Mr Hamilton.

“Peter and Dave got in a fight,” she said. “He was trying to pull the foil off Peter and Peter gave him a dig and Dave gave Peter a dig. Peter picked something up from the table and he swung.”

At the time she did not see what Jackson had picked up and she said Mr Hamilton left the room and became hysterical. It was some minutes before she noticed that there was “blood everywhere”.

It was around this time that she became aware of the knife that had been used to stab Mr Hamilton.

The court also heard from the owner of the house Pat Fennelly. He said that when he saw Mr Hamilton covered in blood he told Jackson and Ms McHale to get him out. Mr Hamilton left the house and collapsed on the pavement outside while Ms McHale called an ambulance.

Jackson initially told gardaí that he had found Mr Hamilton bleeding on the pavement but later admitted his role in the stabbing.