Man who stabbed his brother-in-law to death in belief his wife had cheated with him is jailed

Judge said Andrew Cash, 30, of Highrath, Clara, Co Kilkenny, had attacked his brother-in-law John Cash 'in broad daylight' on a busy street in front of his wife and had then tried to conceal the knife by burying it in rubble

Members of the Cash family at the Criminal Courts of Justice last November when Andy Cash was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of John Cash. Picture: Paddy Cummins

A father of three who believed his wife had cheated on him in the past with his brother-in-law has been jailed for 10 years for stabbing his relative to death in front of the victim's own wife in broad daylight.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon on Monday passed sentence on Andrew ‘Andy’ Cash, who was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of John Cash, 40, at Hebron Road, Kilkenny City, on May 3, 2022.

Ms Justice Creedon said Andrew Cash, 30, of Highrath, Clara, Co Kilkenny, had attacked his brother-in-law John Cash “in broad daylight” on a busy street in front of his wife and had then tried to conceal the knife by burying it in rubble.

She said Cash had continued to shout threats and abuse at the deceased as he was lying on the ground.

A previous sentencing hearing heard the defendant had been drinking and taking tablets when he "snapped" and stabbed his brother-in-law during a row.

Gardaí who attended the scene noted the defendant told John Cash: "You got what you deserved." 

After he was arrested and placed in a Garda car, Cash said: "He had it coming to him for 12 years."

Passing sentence on Monday, Ms Justice Creedon said Andrew Cash’s sister Elizabeth was married to John Cash and they had seven children together. She said apart from being members of the same family, there was evidence of “some history” between the two men because Andrew Cash believed the deceased had been intimate with his wife, “although the veracity of that was not established”, she said.

On the day of the killing, Andy Cash had an argument with his wife about what he believed had happened some 10 or 12 years earlier, she said.

Andrew Cash encountered John Cash and his wife in Kilkenny City later that day, got out of his car and was seen “gesticulating and shouting” towards them, the judge said.

She said the defendant then got back into his car and drove from there to the Hebron Road, where the final confrontation took place.

The judge said the evidence showed Andrew Cash armed himself with a knife, had assaulted the deceased before any provocative remarks were made and had carried out the attack in “broad daylight” on a busy street before continuing to shout threats and abuse at the deceased as he was lying on the ground.

She said the victim impact statements in the case showed it was clear  the deceased was deeply loved by his wife and children and siblings, and his death has left “an enormous gap” in all their lives.

The judge said the particulars of the offence put it in the high culpability range, attracting a sentence of 10 to 15 years. She said an appropriate headline sentence in this case was one of 14 years.

Taking mitigation into account, including Cash’s apology, his lack of previous violent offending and his offer of a plea to manslaughter at the start of the trial, Ms Justice Creedon said she would impose a term of imprisonment of 11 years with the final year suspended on condition he engage with the probation services. She backdated this to May 5, 2022, when Cash first went into custody.

Andrew Cash had also been accused of assault causing harm to Elizabeth Cash and of the production of a knife during the course of a dispute or fight at around 12.30pm on the same date and at the same location.

A Central Criminal Court jury last November returned a 10-2 majority verdict on all charges in the case, finding Cash not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of John Cash and not guilty of both the production of the knife during the course of a dispute and of the assault causing harm charge.

Speaking outside court after the sentencing, victim John Cash's eldest sister Brigid said the family was “devastated” by what happened to their brother.

She said they were unhappy with the verdict of manslaughter, telling reporters: “My brother got no justice this morning.”

“We just love him so much and we go through the pain and hurt every day of losing him. Every day we are expecting John to walk back in the door in his aul jolly laughy way. We will never see that again… If there’s a heaven up there, we will meet again but for now we will live with the pain for the rest of our lives.”