Man gets life for murdering Mallow woman by setting fire to car she was in

Mary O’Keeffe's granddaughter Nicky O'Keeffe told the court: "Mary O'Keeffe will be forever in our hearts, she is deeply loved, sadly missed."

Mary O’Keeffe. "She was a talented knitter and would give away the jumpers, scarves and blankets she created. If anyone insisted on paying, she would use the money to buy them a gift," the court heard today.

An "emotionally manipulative" man murdered a woman he had become obsessed with by setting fire to his car while she was inside, the Central Criminal Court heard on Wednesday.

Michael Leonard (63) of Hillcrest, Glenosheen, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, was today sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to the murder of 72-year-old Mary O'Keeffe at a woodland at Doneraile, Co. Cork on February 4, last year.