Arsonist gets eight years for fatal attack
In a victim impact statement, the woman’s family said they cannot forgive the accused and she inflicted “a terrible pain”, on them.
Nicola Kavanagh, aged 28, of Rathmullen Park, Drogheda, Co Louth, admitted the manslaughter of Eva Berrill, aged 73. She also pleaded guilty to arson to the Berrill family home on the Chord Rd, Drogheda, on August 16, 2014.
The court heard Mrs Berrill, who was once a well-known singer, had been paralysed and needed a wheelchair after a stroke in 2002.
She died in the burns unit of St James Hospital in Dublin 96 days after the fire. She had burns to 12% of her body and was not strong enough to tolerate surgery.
Detective Inspector Pat Marry said that CCTV had captured Kavanagh setting fire to the net curtains in the downstairs bedroom that Mrs Berrill slept in. It was a warm summer night and the window had been left open.
Kavanagh and three men she was with walked past the house again, at which point it was obvious the fire has taken hold, he added.
A member of the public raised the alarm and ran across the road to McDonnell’s public house where Mr Berrill was. He had checked on Eva just a short time earlier, the court heard.
Judge O’Shea also praised the actions of Colin Carter, who had “fearlessly and courageously put his life at risk” by going into the house and dragging Mrs Berrill out of her room and onto the street.
Roderick O’Hanlon, defending, said setting the fire was “a random act,” and there was no premeditation.
Kavanagh was truly sorry and ashamed and “never intended any of this to happen”, he added.
He said she hopes that one day in the future the Berrill family can forgive her and then she can forgive herself.
In a victim impact statement, read by their son Des, Oliver Berrill described how he was his wife’s main carer.
“I spent my time looking after her. I did this with love — love for my wife, love for the mother of my children and was happy to continue doing this until the day God called her home.
“On the night Nicola Kavanagh lit a fire in our home, Eva was on her own in her bed. This was not the end that anyone would want for their loved one and certainly not how I imagined Eva and myself would be separated.
“I wanted to care for her until she ended her days naturally. Nicola Kavanagh has taken that from me.”
He said the family had visited her every day in hospital and watched her suffer. “We suffered too. We lived in hope she would pull through and return home to her family where she belonged,” he said.
He said Eva was “the heart of our family”.
“We miss her every day and we are angry that her end came too early at the hands of Nicola Kavanagh.
“We cannot forgive Nicola Kavanagh for what she has done. She has broken up our family. We can never again be together. She has inflicted a terrible pain on our family.”
