Tattoo artist sentenced to life in prison for fatal sword attack on Cobh chef

Ian Baitson died in hospital in March last year, four days after the assault. As his killer was given a mandatory life term, his family spoke of how the pain of his death will never ease

Dylan Scannell, of O'Rahilly St in Cobh, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but the jury found him guilty of murder. Picture: Dan Linehan

The family of a murdered young man in Cobh have been left with a pain that feels like it will never ease after a ferocious slashing with a Samurai sword took his life in an attack described as callous and vicious.

The man’s 14-year-old daughter told the murderer today: “You deserve every second of your sentencing.” The killer said: “I will have to carry his cross with me for the rest of my days.” 

The tattoo artist who murdered Ian Baitson, whom he had known since they were teenagers, was sentenced to life imprisonment today in a case where he slashed his leg with a sword when they met in relation to a debt at a supermarket car park.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon imposed the life sentence on Dylan Scannell, aged 31, of O’Rahilly Street, Cobh, Co Cork, who was found guilty of murdering 33-year-old chef Ian Baitson, in Eurospar car park, Newtown Road, Cobh, on March 19, 2024.

He had admitted manslaughter but denied murder. Six men and six women of the jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork returned a unanimous verdict of guilty of murder after deliberating for just over four hours at the end of a trial last month.

Detective Garda Paul Cotter said today that the background to the murder was a dispute over the monetary value of a debt owed by the deceased to the accused, and that texts and voice messages from the accused had become more threatening and menacing prior to the sword attack.

The blood-soaked €185 cash Ian Baitson brought to pay Dylan Scannell that evening was still in Mr Baitson’s pocket after the attack. Det Garda Cotter said the accused first slashed the sword in the direction of his chest but missed and then slashed him below the knee, almost amputating his leg.

'My heart broke'

Ian Baitson of Newtown Rd, Cobh, Cork, suffered catastrophic bleeding.

Ian Baitson’s 14-year-old daughter said: “In March 2024 we all celebrated my younger brother's birthday. Daddy was so happy. Then, a few days later, we got a call saying my father had been attacked. My heart broke. We went to ICU in CUH and seeing my daddy hooked up on three different machines scared me and I will never forget that.

One day we got the call that he was not going to recover and they had to take him off the life support machines. I never cried so much in my life

“When we went up to ICU to say goodbye, there were two teddies on his shoulders for me and my brother. My heart shattered and I never felt so much pain like this. I spent St Paddy's Day in ICU with my dad and on the 19th of March my uncle sat me and my mommy down in a room and told us he is gone. I just fell silent.

“I'm 14 writing this and the only thing I will say is you deserve every second of your sentencing.” 

'He was everyone's friend'

On behalf of herself and her four-year-old son, Sarah Geasley spoke today of the overwhelming sense of loss that has consumed lan's family, friends, colleagues, the wider community of Cobh, and herself and their son, since lan was taken from them in such a senseless, cruel and violent manner.

“lan was the kind of person that would light up even the gloomiest room — be it with a well-timed joke, a funny dance, or even by bursting into song. He had a warmth that seemed to radiate from him. He was everyone's friend, whether you knew him for five minutes or five months.

“He had a way of turning even the most awkward of situations into something that you would look back on and laugh. He was a hard worker and I suppose you could say he adapted the saying 'work hard play hard'.

“lan, like many of us, has had hardships and suffered through some tough times but in the months leading up to and at the time of his death we had a healthy co-parenting relationship.

“The last time our son saw his daddy was when lan put him to bed on the night of the attack. He woke up the next morning and unbeknown to our innocent, beautiful, funny little three-year-old boy his life was forever changed. He now cries for his daddy, asks to hug the teddy bear that is made out of his daddy's clothes when he misses him, says things like, 'I want to be a chef like my daddy… I miss him, when is he coming back? ... I wish I could get a ladder to my daddy up in heaven.' And heartbreakingly, 'why is he gone?'

“He now associates stars in the sky with his daddy, along with butterflies and robins. At night if he sees a bright star he will say 'look, mammy there's daddy'. Every morning and every night he will look to the sky and say 'good morning or good night daddy'.

To the person responsible for this loss: you took more than just a life. You took away our future, our hope, our peace. You have forever altered the course of our lives, and for that, there will never be enough words to express the pain you have caused

 Richard Baitson said: “My brother lan was a beacon of love, strength, and joy. lan touched countless lives with his kindness and his generosity, always smiling and always cheerful. His absence has left a void that we feel every moment. My brother was the devoted father of two children, he adored his children beyond measure. He was their hero, their protector, their guide through life's complexities. His laughter could chase away their fears, and his embrace could make them feel safe no matter what they faced.

“lan began running and even took part in his first few road races, with plans to run the Mallow 10km later in March and Cork City Marathon in the summer of 2024.

"Our mother, Helen, has lost her youngest son, one of only two children. Our mam has suffered a pain that words cannot describe as a result of lan's loss. He was her pride and joy, the embodiment of her hopes and dreams.

 She loved us both unconditionally and unreservedly. No parent should ever have to bury their child, yet our mam has been burdened with a terrible and incurable grief. Our mam lived for us, she gave us everything we ever wanted or needed words cannot capture the sorrow she must now endure. Every day, my mam wakes up to face a reality that feels wrong, a world where her treasured son no longer exists in anything but memory and the weight of it is crushing.

“The ripple effects of his absence are felt far and wide, by everyone who had the privilege to know him and those who had yet to meet him.

To have his life taken so violently, so senselessly, is a weight that rests heavily on all of us. It is a pain that I would not wish upon anyone, a pain that feels as though it will never fade

We are left to grapple not only with the loss but with the questions that haunt us — the 'what ifs', the 'whys', and the dreams of a different outcome.” 

 Tom Creed defence senior counsel read a letter written by Scannell: “I would like to apologise from the bottom of my heart to Ian’s family and friends and to his children. I know my words can’t change what happened or change the outcome of today but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t say sorry for what pain and suffering I have caused. Ian was my friend and I will have to carry his cross with me for the rest of my days.

“I can only pray for God’s forgiveness. And pray that someday, Ian’s family can forgive me … I am truly sorry for what I have done.” 

Trial cross-examination

During the trial last month, the accused was asked how he got the sword. “It was a gift from a client in the tattoo shop a couple of years before this. I brought it home and hung it on the wall. It was old, it was a rusty old sword.” 

Mr Creed asked: “Why did you bring the sword with you to Eurospar (at around 8.30pm on March 15, 2024)?” He replied: “Just for protection… I was paranoid. I was afraid. I wanted to scare him. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I didn’t think I could hurt anyone by hitting him in the leg. I just thought he would get a fright. I didn’t think that would happen.” 

Mr Creed said: “The prosecution case is that on the evening you intended to kill or cause serious injury.” He replied: “I didn’t mean to cause any injury. I didn’t think that by hitting someone in the leg that I would cause any damage.” 

Senior counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Donal O’Sullivan cross-examined and said: “The first thing you did was not to put your hand out and say, ‘Ian, where is the money?’ The first thing you do is to take a swipe at him with a sword.” 

Scannell replied, “Yes.” Scannell said, “I hit him to scare him.” Mr O’Sullivan said: “You almost amputated his leg, you went through bone. You are lying. You knew well what you were doing. You went up there to hurt him, and hurt him badly, and that is what you did.” 

In reply, the accused said: “I went up there to scare him.” 

Afterwards he said he panicked: “I got rid of the sword, I threw it out the window of the car. It threw it over the wall into the water.” 

Mr O’Sullivan put to the accused texts he sent threatening the deceased — that he was going to smash him up, cut off his fingers and further threats made in sexual terms.

 The senior counsel asked if those threats meant that he was going to go to hurt him badly. The accused replied: “No.” 

As for being sorry, the prosecution counsel said: “You are sorry for yourself in this situation facing a murder charge. What you are saying is lies to get yourself out of this situation. You went up to hurt him and hurt him badly. You went up to seriously injure this man. Your behaviour afterwards indicates someone doing everything he could to avoid taking responsibility for what you did. You are coming up here lying to the jury, bare-faced.”

The accused disagreed with that.

But the jury were unanimous in finding that it was murder and today the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment was imposed.
This article was edited on July 16.