Life sentence for Galway man who murdered girlfriend

A 27-year-old man has been given a life sentence at the Central Criminal Court after pleading guilty to murdering his girlfriend in Galway two years ago.

Patrick "Pa" Hogan, with an address at Father Griffin Avenue, Galway admitted murdering 23-year-old Karen Guinee, a newly qualified doctor, at that address, some time between June 11 and June 12 2006.

Superintendent Tom Hurley told Mr Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting that Hogan rang his parents at around 6.30am on June 12. He told them that something terrible had happened and the downstairs door was locked. He asked his father to call gardaí and ask them to break down the door.

Hogan's father and mother immediately headed over to the flat the couple shared, which was over the Hogan family pharmacy. Mrs Hogan had a spare key to the flat and let them in.

They went straight upstairs to the bedroom where they found Hogan and Miss Guinee lying on the bed apparently unconscious. Their arms were linked. Karen Guinee was cold to the touch but Hogan was still breathing.

Spr Int Hurley said a post mortem conducted by Chief State Pathologist Marie Cassidy confirmed that Ms Guinee had died from compression of the neck consistent with manual strangulation. She had also received blows to the side of her head using a blunt object identified as a hammer found at the scene.

Bruising to her mouth would have been consistent with a blow to the mouth or with someone forcibly covering the mouth with a hand.

Spr Int Hurley said that Hogan was brought to Galway University College Hospital where he received stitches for self inflicted slashes to his arms. He told nurses at the hospital: "I just killed my girlfriend." Referring to suicide he said: "It didn't work for me."

When one of the hospital staff told him they would sort things out he replied: "I don't think this can be sorted out. I have killed my girlfriend. I think you know her. Her name was Karen."

Asked if his girlfriend was a doctor he replied: "Not any more."

When he was charged with Ms Guinee's murder he told gardaí: "I can't bring her back. I would if I could."

He did not tell gardaí what had happened to lead to the murder saying that he could not remember but the garda investigation confirmed that the couple had spent the day before together.

Spr Int Hurley agreed with Mr Martin Giblin SC, defending, that Hogan had been going out with Ms Guinee for approximately two years. Both families were very well respected.

Mr Michael Guinee, Karen's uncle and godfather, speaking in a victim impact statement, said that Karen "was a victim of her own caring and loving nature".

He said she had decided to become a doctor at a young age and was one week away from her formal graduation. She would have started an internship at University College Hospital on July 1 and was only a week away from the 24th birthday when she died. "She would have made an excellent doctor."

He said that for the six years she had been away from her native Cork while studying in Galway, she had phoned home every single day. Her two younger sisters had lost "an idol and a role model".

Mr Guinee said Karen's parents were so proud of having a doctor in the family and had been looking forward to attending her conferral on June 20, a week after her death.

Instead they spent the day by her graveside. He said Karen's youngest sister still wrote notes to her sister to leave by her grave and her father often spent whole Sundays there.

Laura Guinee, told the court she had been speaking to her sister the night before her death. She said she had never imagined it would be the last time she spoke to her.

She said Karen was "my big sister, my inspiration, my best friend."

In the defence, Mr Giblin said that Hogan took full responsibility for Ms Guinee's death. "He would never ask for her family to forgive him because he cannot forgive himself.

Mr Justice Paul Carney handed down the mandatory life sentence.

Speaking outside the Four Courts after the sentence, Laura Guinee said: "We got justice which we wanted. Nothing will bring Karen back. It has been very tough for all of us. She would have made an amazing doctor. It's a great loss for the world."