Mulhall brother sentenced for armed robbery

The brother of the Mulhall sisters, who killed their mother’s African boyfriend in March 2005, has been sentenced to two years in prison for robberies he committed while wielding a knife.

John Mulhall (aged 29), of Kilclare Gardens, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two robberies at a Spar on Orwell Road on January 18, 2005 and an Emo station at Firhouse on January 27, 2005.

Judge Desmond Hogan heard the defendant had missed an earlier court appearance because he was looking after his sister Linda’s four young children after she had left the country with their sister Charlotte and their mother.

Lilly Buckley BL, defending, said her client’s sisters had been facing "serious charges" and their father had committed suicide at that time.

Detective Garda David Connolly told Marie Torrens BL, prosecuting, that Mulhall had entered the Spar shop armed with a knife, jumped over the counter and demanded money from two members of staff.

An accomplice stood by the door and prevented customers from leaving the shop before the raiders made off with €400.

The following week Mulhall again entered a service station with a knife, jumped the counter and demanded cash from the till. He took €408 and 28 packets of cigarettes Det Gda Connolly said a female member of staff who had curled up in a ball on the ground in fear during the raid.

Mulhall told gardaí that he had been on drugs at the time of the offences and had been spending up to €400 on heroin each day. He said he had previously had bad experiences in prison, didn’t want to "get locked up again" and was trying to get money to go to England.

Judge Hogan had previously imposed a two year suspended sentence on Mulhall for assaulting a man on the 77 bus on Belgard Square West, Tallaght on April 3, 2004. He has a further 20 previous convictions.

Judge Hogan activated that suspended sentence and imposed a concurrent two years for the robberies backdating all sentences to June 2006 when Mulhall went into custody.

Mulhall’s sisters stabbed and beat their mother's African boyfriend to death before sawing up his body with a knife and hammer and dumping his headless corpse in the Royal Canal

Charlotte Mulhall (aged 23) was convicted of murder last October at the Central Criminal Court with her sister Linda (aged 31) who was found guilty of manslaughter for her role in the killing of Farah Swaleh Noor (aged 38) at their mother's house at Richmond Cottages, Ballybough, on March 20, 2005.