State 'bending rules' for Rochestown murderer, grieving families say

The State is “bending the rules” for a convicted killer, who stabbed a student to death in her bedroom and left her heavily bleeding friend for dead, by releasing him to see family.

Peter Whelan broke into the home of Nichola Sweeney, then 20, who was getting ready for a night out with her best friend Sinead O’Leary, then 19, in Rochestown, Co Cork on a motiveless, murderous rampage.

Ms O’Leary survived the horrific attack with life-changing injuries, but Ms Sweeney suffered a fatal stab wound to the heart in her bedroom on April 27, 2002.

Whelan was sentenced to life in prison for Ms Sweeney’s murder, and 15 years for Ms O’Leary’s attempted murder. The sentences were to run consecutively.

But after serving 11 of the 15 years for attempted murder, and just four years for killing Ms Sweeney, Whelan was out of prison on escorted day release. This upcoming escorted release will be the fifth that the Sweeneys and O’’Learys are aware of.  They were "horrified" when an email from the Irish Prison Service recently informed them that Whelan would be out on an “escorted visit for the purpose of visiting some family members at a location in County Laois...over the next four weeks."

Speaking after receiving the news, Ms O’’Leary said: “I was very shocked that the State is still acting unlawfully regarding this case. What’’s going on is illegal. The seriousness of the crime and the sentence handed handed down by Judge Paul Carney are not being taken into account or respected at all. They’’re bending the rules with him."

Whelan was ordered to serve separate sentences for murder and attempted murder consecutively — one after the other — as opposed to the more usual concurrent sentencing when sentences for different crimes are served at the same time.

Ms O’’Leary said:

“If he was serving a life sentence on its own, he wouldn’’t be let out at this stage in his sentence. There was a reason the sentences were made consecutive."

Ms O’’Leary and the Sweeneys have repeatedly begged the Government not to release Whelan early because they fear for their own safety and believe that he is still a danger to wider society.

Family of Nichola Sweeney

Nichola’’s father, John Sweeney was "disgusted" by this development in their case: “We were horrified. Despite all our pleading to Ministers and TDs to block this illegal situation it is being allowed to continue. It’’s a further insult to us."

Mr Sweeney is also concerned that the new Parole Act — which was passed last year but has not yet taken effect — may not be enacted before Whelan serves seven years of his life sentence this year.  The new Parole Act will extend the minimum term of a life sentence from seven to 12 years which would keep Whelan locked up until at least 2025: “We’’re in a government limbo-land and it could be many weeks or months before a new government is formed. We’’re under pressure and very desperate."

“He was left out once for his mother’’s funeral which we had no problem with on compassionate grounds, but he’’ll have been out five times that we know of since 2017."

“If the Justice Minister had any decency he would have apologised for allowing these illegal releases and stopped this deplorable situation.”