21-year-old man gets life for murder

A 21-year-old Dublin man has been sentenced to life in prison, having been found guilty at the Central Criminal Court of murdering the father of his girlfriend’s child.

Peter Murray of Donomore Crescent, Killinarden in Tallaght had pleaded not guilty to the murder on April 12, 2002, of 23-year-old Peter Bisset, of Cushlawn Park, also in Tallaght,

Mr Bisset died in hospital in the early hours of that Friday, shortly after being beaten and stabbed outside his ex-girlfriend’s home on Donomore Crescent, as his three-year-old daughter slept inside.

Last week, the accused’s girlfriend, Catherine Hoare, testified that the deceased was trying to defend himself from the attack, while curled up on the ground

She told the court that Mr Bisset phoned her on the night of April 11, 2002 and told the accused he was going to be sliced up. She said the atmosphere in the house between this phone-call and Mr Bisset’s arrival half an hour later was terrifying.

During the seven-day trial, the court heard that, when first approached by gardaí, the accused denied all knowledge of the incident.

The jury was also given forensic evidence, showing that Peter Bisset’s blood was found on the accused’s clothing.

When he finally admitted to killing Mr Bisset with part of the deceased’s child’s cot and a kitchen knife, Mr Murray said he did not care for how long he would be locked up because the victim deserved to die.

He told gardaí that he was armed with these weapons when he opened the door to Mr Bisset and agreed that the deceased did not have a weapon.

"When I came out of the house, they legged it. I ran after him and started beating him with the stick. I put the stick down and took out the knife and started stabbing him. I told him I was going to kill him for hitting my bird," recalled Mr Murray.

"After everything he did to my girlfriend, he deserved to die," commented the accused. "He said he’d slice me up, so I sliced him up. I can’t control my temper. I just got pissed off. I don’t care how long I get locked up for," he added.

When asked what the deceased was doing while this beating was taking place, Mr Murray replied, "He just curled up into a ball. He kept saying to my girlfriend, will you please make him stop".

Retired State Pathologist Professor John Harbison told the court that his Post Mortem examination showed the victim bled to death as a result of a stab wound to the right lung and heart.

Professor Harbison said he found six knife wounds on the deceased’s body, the most serious two being to the right side of the chest. It was one of these, he said, which killed Mr Bisset.

The fatal wound, said the pathologist, was five inches long, entering the body between the fourth and fifth ribs and puncturing the lung and then the heart. As a result of these injuries, two pints of blood leaked into the chest cavities; blood was also found in the sac around the heart.

Professor Harbison was shown the bloodstained 7.75-inch carving knife, which gardaí had retrieved from the accused’s home. The professor "considered it was consistent" with the injury to the heart.

There were also two stab wounds on the face and two to the right arm. The arm injuries, he said, both of which were about two inches deep, could be considered defensive in character.

The court heard, too, of lacerations to the scalp, forehead, a lancing wound to the nose, as well as grazes and bruising to the arms, nose and mouth.

Professor Harbison found blood in the victim’s windpipe and stomach. The blood in the stomach, he thought, had probably been swallowed, having originated in the windpipe.

The post-mortem results revealed the use of another weapon. There was bruising and bleeding to the brain and skull, as a result of blunt trauma to the head. Bruises on the victim’s arm had the same pattern as the jumper he was wearing.

The pathologist concluded that, "The young man died of bleeding in his chest, due to a single penetrative stab wound through the 4th and 5th ribs, through the lung, ending in the right atrium of the heart".

They jury was shown the bloodstained murder weapons, which were located, along with another bat, in the base of the accused’s bed.

After the verdict was read out today, the deceased’s mother, Mary Bisset, told the court that her son’s death had devastated her family. She said her husband had a nervous breakdown, their marriage nearly broke up and his brother’s murder almost shattered her other son’s life.

Mrs Bisset said it was the weekly visit from Peter’s daughter, which kept the family together. She pointed out that her son would not see his daughter on her Communion day, her Confirmation day or her Wedding day, but hoped that the remaining family members would.

The deceased’s mother said that, although the little girl never really got to know him, she remembered her father. "She can still tell me the last picture he took her to see was ET in the Square," she said.

"No answers will ever suffice why someone can play God and take him away without illness or a car accident. I’ll never give him a hug or a kiss again and he would frequently give me a hug," said Mrs Bisset.

"Life is never going to be the same for me. He’ll never get old," she added. However, Mrs Bisset said she took some consolation from knowing that no one would ever hurt Peter again.

Mr Murray’s barrister, Brendan Nix SC, told Mrs Bisset that his client had asked him to apologise on his behalf for what he had done. Mr Nix commended Mrs Bisset for her family’s decorum in court.

"Too many families have been affected by this. I don’t think anyone feels good about this," she replied.

Detective Sergeant Robert Barber told the court of Peter Murray’s troubled life and previous convictions. Mr Murray had moved from foster home to hostel throughout his teens, having lost the support of his parents by the time he was ten years old.

Detective Barber agreed that Mr Murray had raised himself up on the streets and had become a heroin addict. He had been convicted of assault, breach of the Probation Act, robbery and trespass, and had spent time in prison before killing Mr Bisset.

Mr Murray had been living with Mr Bisset’s ex-girlfriend and child for about five months before the murder, during which time he became close to the toddler. He had been in custody since being arrested on the day of Mr Bisset’s death.

Detective Barber confirmed that the convict had been rehabilitated since his incarceration in Wheatfield Prison and that he had partaken in various programmes, including, ‘Alternative to Violence’.

He had achieved a Junior Certificate in English and Geography while inside, and some of his work was on display in the Wheatfield Art Exhibition.

The detective agreed that Mr Murray was much different to the man arrested for murder three years ago.

The jury of six men and six women took over four hours to reach its majority verdict of 11 to one.

Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the mandatory life sentence, backdated to April 12th, 2002 and discharged the jurors from jury service for the rest of their lives.