Parts of sentences suspended after Ballymun death

A Dublin man and woman who beat an alcoholic to death during a drinking session had the last two years of their 10-year jail sentences suspended today.

The Court of Criminal Appeal found that the trial judge, Mr Justice Paul Carney, had not taken into account the personal circumstances of the two when he jailed them for 10 years in 2005.

Christopher Geraghty (aged 36), of Knowth Court, Poppintree, Dublin, and Tanya Lambe (aged 28), Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, both pleaded guilty in February 2005 to the manslaughter of Anthony Jordan (aged 54).

He died at his flat in Balbutcher Lane, Ballymun, Dublin, between May 10 and 11, 2003. His badly beaten body was found by gardaí on May 12. Ms Lambe had been the girlfriend of the deceased at the time of the fatal incident.

Prosecuting counsel Michael O'Higgins SC told the trial court that the deceased man was a "chronic alcoholic" who suffered from epilepsy.

On the night of the fatal incident, he, Ms Lambe and Mr Geraghty were drinking in his flat. A row broke out and in the course of the altercation the deceased received seven injuries to his head from a hockey stick and a domestic mop.

The trial judge heard that Mr Jordan "existed unconscious" for four hours, during which the two accused left the flat, returned and went to bed, leaving Mr Jordan in the same position. His body was discovered after gardaí received a 999 call from an unidentified woman.

Today, Mr Justice Brian Mc Cracken, presiding at the three-judge court, said that Lambe had self-harmed herself and had suffered from alcohol abuse problems and had very unfortunate family circumstances.

The judge said that Geraghty had been a serious drug addict but had managed to overcome that before suffering from alcohol problems.