Eight years for man who stored body of man he killed in freezer

A Galway father-of-four, who beat a Dublin criminal to death and stored his body in a freezer for five years, was jailed for eight years today at the Central Criminal Court.

Edward Griffin (aged 45) of Cimin Mor, Cappagh Road, Knocknacarra, Galway pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 52-year-old Patrick McCormack in June 2002 at a fish shop on Henry Street in Galway.

Delivering his sentence, Mr Justice Paul Carney said that Griffin showed “callous disregard of all human decency, allowing the body to hang in the freezer for five years, while working around it”.

He also described the “cruelty inflicted on Mr McCormack’s family, depriving them of a funeral for a long period of time”.

Mr Justice Carney said that the “only witness to the killing of the unfortunate Mr McCormack was the accused“.

“His account has to be accepted as the only evidence available.”

The court has previously heard that Griffin was in the drugs business, mainly cannabis, with McCormack of Artane Cottages in the capital. They had a falling out over money and had a fight.

Griffin had initially been charged with murder, but the DPP accepted his plea to manslaughter on the grounds of self-defence with excessive and unreasonable force used.

According to Griffin, the only eyewitness, the Dubliner went to the fish shop where Griffin worked. Griffin gave him €13,000 in the prep area at the back of the shop. When McCormack became angry and demanded more, Griffin turned to get more cash from the freezer.

Griffin said that McCormack then hit him over the back of the head with a wheel brace he had brought with him and both men began to fight. Griffin managed to take McCormack’s wheel brace and use it against him.

He said McCormack slipped on the ice as he was not wearing anti-slip shoes. He hit him again before going into the shop to get some rope with which to tie him and prevent him fighting. Griffin told gardai he didn’t know that at that stage McCormack had “no fight left in him”.

When he came back with the rope, he realised McCormack was dead. He tied him up, put the body in a bin and into a walk-in freezer behind the shop.

Det. Sgt Beirne told the court last Tuesday that Griffin admitted the killing to a colleague, a Mr McCarthy. “I fu**ed up this time. I killed some scumbag who owed me money,” Griffin said at the time, according to Mr McCarthy, who came across the body in 2005, but said nothing.

Griffin never tried to move the body, even when he left the job in 2006. It wasn’t until the Department of Marine notified the owner of an inspection in June 2007 that the body was discovered during a clear out.

McCormack’s hands had been tied and he had visible injuries. A post-mortem examination showed 40 injuries, 17 of which were to the head, with three of the head injuries being fractures. Cause of death was given as blunt force trauma to the head and face. There was also subdural haemoragging.

Griffin told gardaí he feared for his life and the safety of his family, who McCormack threatened to kill. He said McCormack also threatened to dismember a third party and to cut off Griffin’s fingers, one by one, until just one remained so he could call a mutual acquaintance for more money.

Griffin said the fight was a “life and death, blow for blow” struggle, which lasted what seemed like a lifetime. He thought McCormack wouldn’t let it stop.

Det. Sgt Beirne said Griffin described taking a couple of hours to clean up after the killing and driving his victim’s car to Shannon to make it look like he’d gone away.

Griffin has previous convictions for handling stolen property, drugs motor and public order offences.

Mr Justice Carney said that the exceptional force used meant that Griffin was only partially entitled to the defence of self-defence.

He also said that there were a number of “aggravating features”.

He said that “excessive force” was used, Mr McCormack having suffered 17 head injuries.

He also said that the “genesis of the crime was rooted in criminality and drug-dealing”.