'My loving boy's legacy deserves to be heard,' says mother as uncle gets life for his murder

The boy's mother said: "To think how afraid [my son] must have been in his final moments will haunt me for the rest of my life."

Mr Justice Michael White described the murder as a "horrific breach of trust" before sentencing the defendant to the mandatory term of life imprisonment. File photo

A "special, loving boy who touched the hearts of everyone who ever met him" was horrifically murdered by his uncle, a man he trusted, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

A sentence hearing for the 28-year-old, who pleaded guilty last month to murdering the 11-year-old in the south-west of the country on November 3, 2019, heard that the boy was struck with a hammer and stabbed 27 times in the torso, arms and neck. The court heard that the boy's mother believed his uncle was "obsessed" with her son.