Family of Limerick man 'devastated' after UK authorities refuse to conduct death inquest 

"If somebody trips over their lace coming out of a shop, there would be an inquest," said the brother of Thomas Murphy. "But yet my brother gets stabbed and we can’t have an inquest."

Thomas Murphy, of Ballyagran, Co Limerick was stabbed was stabbed 34 times after an argument about a broken plate. Picture: Greater Manchester Police

The family of a Limerick man fatally stabbed 34 times in Manchester say they are devastated that their efforts to secure an inquest into his death have failed.

Thomas Murphy, aged 42, from Ballyagran, Co Limerick, was stabbed several times at a house on Beverly Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, on September 24, 2022.

Last October, his housemate, 23-year-old Stephen Owusu, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order at Manchester Crown Court. In August, he pleaded guilty, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, to the manslaughter of Mr Murphy, who was a father of two young daughters.

Manchester Crown Court heard how Mr Murphy was stabbed 34 times because of a row over a broken plate. Owusu thought Mr Murphy had deliberately broken the plate. After stabbing Mr Murphy, Owusu went to bed.

Stephen Owusu pleaded guilty, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, to the manslaughter of Mr Murphy. Picture: Greater Manchester Police

Members of Thomas Murphy’s family, including his daughters, were in court for the sentencing hearing last October.

His brother Darragh says his family was told that any questions they had about Thomas’s death could be answered when the case went to inquest in Manchester.

However, the family was told earlier this year that there would not be an inquest.

They sought legal advice from a UK-based legal team who corresponded with the coroner to seek a reversal of the decision not to hold an inquest.

The family has now been notified by their solicitor that attempts to secure the reversal have now failed.

Darragh said: “After all we have been through, we have been refused an inquest. 

"We are devastated. If somebody fell outside on a bike on the road, there’s an inquest. If somebody trips over their lace coming out of a shop, there would be an inquest. But yet my brother gets stabbed and we can’t have an inquest.” 

Thomas worked in telecommunications in Manchester for many years but regularly returned to Ballyagran to visit his family.

In his victim impact statement, read in court, Darragh said: “I’m struggling day to day, night to night. Every night when I close my eyes I think of everything. 

"How alone Tom was as he died? How helpless he was dying. 

I think to myself: 'Did he think of one of us, wishing we were there to save him?'.

Owusu can only be released from a secure unit following assessments from Britain's secretary of state for justice or a tribunal.

After the sentencing last October, senior investigating officer Phil Reade of the Greater Manchester Police Major Incident Team commended Thomas' family for their "strength and dignity" throughout the proceedings.