Son who stomped on mother's skull found not guilty of her murder but guilty of manslaughter

Jury accepted defence of provocation from the 29-year-old man who had told the court of being 'groomed' into a life of drugs and violence by his allegedly abusive mother

Luke Donnelly of no fixed abode had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of his mother Catherine Henry, aged 62, at her apartment on Bridge St in Dundalk, Co Louth on a date unknown between May 23 and 24, 2023. 

An amateur kickboxer who said he "lost all control" and stomped on his 62-year-old mother's skull after she threatened to kill him has been found not guilty of her murder but guilty of manslaughter by a Central Criminal Court jury on Thursday evening.

The jury of seven men and five women took just three hours and 36 minutes to accept the defence of provocation put forward by Luke Donnelly, aged 29, who told the panel of being "groomed" into a life of drugs and violence by his allegedly abusive mother.

Donnelly told the Central Criminal Court last week: 

In my whole life of being attacked and abused I had never defended myself, just waited for it to be over. 

The jurors had the option of returning two verdicts in relation to the murder charge against Donnelly, namely; guilty of murder or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by reason of self-defence or provocation.

Donnelly, of no fixed abode, had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of his mother Catherine Henry, aged 62, at her apartment on Bridge St in Dundalk, Co Louth on a date unknown between May 23 and 24 2023.

In seeking a verdict of manslaughter for his client, Conall MacCarthy, defending, had argued that the defendant and his mother had a "complex, sad and disturbing" relationship, and there was evidence of the deceased being prone to "sudden outbursts of violence".

Defendant said mother had threatened to kill him

In his evidence, Donnelly recalled his mother coming into the bedroom of her apartment on May 23, 2023, and asking for his key back.

Donnelly said he told her he was the son of God and couldn't take the controlling abuse anymore. 

The defendant said his mother screamed in his face that she would kill him if he left.

Donnelly said he closed his eyes and "waited for it to be over" as she lunged at him. He said: 

I didn't know whether it was punches or a weapon but I could feel my head and arms being hit.

At that moment, Donnelly said he was in fear for his life, snapped and threw a punch, which connected with Ms Henry and spun her around. 

"I lost all control and proceeded to stomp, it all happened in a moment," he said, adding that he believed his mother was going to kill him.

The 12 jurors rejected the State's contention by a majority verdict that the defences of provocation and self-defence were not open to Donnelly. 

It was the prosecution case that Donnelly had crushed his mother's skull "like he would a common insect" and that the 62-year-old grandmother had posed no more threat to her son than that.