Student jailed for stabbing pal in music row

A Leaving Cert student who stabbed his friend through the heart during a drink-fuelled row over music was jailed for eight years by the Central Criminal Court today.

Mr James Keenan, aged 20, of Bayside Square East, Sutton, Dublin had earlier pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Jonathon Durran, aged 18, of Dublin Road, Sutton on February 24, 2002.

At the sentencing hearing today, the court heard that Mr Keenan was a model young man who had never come to notice of the gardaí previously.

Detective Sergeant Gary Kelly, Howth, told the court that on the night of the killing that Keenan, Durran and another friend Gerard Browne were out drinking at the Sheaf of Wheat pub.

They consumed some five pints each and a Vodka and Red Bull and got a taxi back to Keenan’s house where they had some gin and 7-up.

The detective sergeant said that the accused’s mother and stepfather were on their way into town and the three friends went up to Keenan’s bedroom.

A row developed over the type of music being played and it continued in the kitchen. The deceased picked up a pot and hit the accused over the head.

Browne tried to separate them but was hit from behind and fell to the ground.

Detective Sergeant Kelly said Keenan told gardaí during questioning that he picked up a knife from an open drawer but did not intend to use it. He wanted Durran to "back off".

The court heard that Keenan thrust the knife into Durran’s chest who then fell face down onto the knife.

The evidence was that it pierced his heart and lungs, killing him instantly. Detective Sergeant Kelly said Keenan told him he never intended to kill Jonathon. "He kept saying: 'he’s my mate, my friend’."

Erwan Mullarden SC, defending, told the court that James Keenan was a "genuinely remorseful" young man who was "absolutely shattered" by what happened.

He was a "model young man" before and since the killing. The court heard that the deceased’s parents accepted that James Keenan had not intended to kill their son.

Sentencing him to eight years imprisonment to run from today Mr Justice Paul Carney said while he accepted the non-intentional nature of the killing and the accused’s previous good record, he had to take into account the gravity of what he termed "these knife cases".