Man must do jail term for trying to kill father before serving life for murdering mother, judge rules

Danny Heyneman, aged 33, with an address at Kilnavart, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty to murdering Annie Heyneman, inset, at the family home on January 11, 2025. File picture

A Cavan man must serve a six-year sentence for trying to murder his father in a “vicious and prolonged” attack before commencing a life term for murdering his mother by stabbing her at least 14 times, a Central Criminal Court judge has ruled.

Imposing the mandatory life sentence on Danny Heyneman on Tuesday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said this was an attack of “extraordinary violence” within the supposed safety of the Heyneman home, adding that the couple’s “only apparent crime was to extend a place of safety to Danny and care for him".

He said this was a good example of the old adage that “no good deed goes unpunished”.

Mr Justice Hunt had previously said he would consider imposing consecutive sentences, having listened to evidence of the defendant's "vicious and prolonged" attacks on both parents.

He said on Tuesday that the 33-year-old’s attempted murder of his father after he had killed his mother was a “separate and extremely serious offence”. 

Mr Justice Hunt said there was a “sustained element” to the offending, noting that after killing his mother, Danny Heyeman then attacked his father in what he characterised as “sequential and escalating violence”.

Henk Heyneman was forced to escape the attack by his son by running barefoot across a field to raise the alarm with a neighbour, Mr Justice Hunt said.

He said Henk Heyneman now has to live with permanent physical injuries, psychological trauma, and the grief of losing his wife.

To lose a spouse in any circumstance is difficult, the judge said, but to lose a spouse at the hands of your child was “an unimaginable situation”.

This was a “shocking, shocking tragedy for all concerned but most of all for Henk Heyneman,” Mr Justice Hunt added.

He said the most aggravating factor in the case was the breach of trust involved, as Henk and Annie Heyneman had been attacked in their own home which “should have been a place of safety for them”.

“They extended a place of safety to Danny with catastrophic results,” said the judge, acknowledging the “extreme violence” used in the attack and the “multiplicity of injuries” sustained by both victims.

Guilty plea

Danny Heyneman, aged 33, with an address at Kilnavart, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, previously pleaded guilty to murdering Annie Heyneman at the family home on January 11, 2025.

He also admitted attempting to murder Henk Heyneman at the same address on the same date.

A previous sentencing hearing was told that Danny had moved home to live with his parents in 2020. His behaviour became “challenging” and a number of incidents led to him being admitted to psychiatric care. He stopped working and there were concerns about his alcohol use.

The court heard the defendant has some features of depression and a history of alcohol and polysubstance abuse, but does not suffer from a severe mental disorder.

Victim impact statement

In his victim impact statement, Henk Heyneman said the couple loved all their children and allowed Danny to live under their roof as an adult without expecting anything in return. 

"We never expected him to be grateful," he said. "But we never expected murder."

On January 11, 2025, Henk arrived at his neighbour's front door, bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds. The neighbour noticed that his right ear was “hanging off” and he had stab wounds to the chest and stomach and a lump missing from his left arm.

Mr Heyneman told his neighbour that his wife needed immediate medical attention and might be dead. "Don't let anyone near the house without the guards. Danny has gone crazy," he said.

Mr Heyneman later told gardaí that he went to bed at around 9pm but heard a strange noise followed by screaming and found his wife lying on the kitchen floor not moving. When he went to check on her, his son ran at him with a knife and stabbed him.

Mr Heyneman locked himself in the bedroom but emerged a short time later and was again attacked by his son. He managed to escape through a sliding door and walked barefoot across a field to a neighbour’s house to raise the alarm.

When interviewed, Danny Heyneman accepted that he had stabbed his mother and his father but said he couldn't remember doing it. He said he had not intended to hurt anyone.