Philip Dunbar sentenced to life for murder of Adam Muldoon

A woman whose brother died after being stabbed 183 times in a Dublin park two years ago has said she is haunted by the thought of him begging for his life during the attack.

Philip Dunbar (20) was jailed for life on Friday after a jury unanimously found him guilty of the murder of Adam “Floater” Muldoon (23) at the Central Criminal Court.

The trial heard that Dunbar attacked Mr Muldoon unprovoked with a knife at Butler Park, Jobstown Park, Tallaght on June 22nd or 23rd, 2018. The court heard Dunbar later went to a friend’s house and boasted that he had “slaughtered Floater” and “put him out of his misery” as he begged for his life.

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Adam Muldoon: a sweet and innocent person

Mr Muldoon’s younger sister, Katie Muldoon read a victim impact statement on Friday in which she said her brother, who had cerebral palsy, had struggled from early in his life but kept fighting despite the obstacles he faced.

“He was the light in any room,” she said.

When their mother died, Ms Muldoon said, the siblings were separated and Adam moved to Tallaght, where other teenagers would take advantage of him.

But he “overcame every challenge independently”, she said, and would “have a giggle with anybody.

“He really wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she said.

‘Heart aches’

Ms Muldoon said the family held a wake for Adam on the day she was meant to celebrate her 16th birthday and that her “heart aches” when she thinks of the fear he must have felt during his final moments.

“Hearing how he begged for his life haunts me,” she said, adding that he did not deserve such a “gruesome” death.

Ms Muldoon said the family had to endure a trial because Dunbar pleaded not guilty and then continued to lie. She thanked the people of Tallaght who had given evidence that helped secure a conviction.

“His lack of emotion shows he has no remorse for what he has done.”

In another victim impact statement, Adam’s father, Michael Bolger wrote that the family “can’t understand how anyone could be so callous and brutal to inflict such a death on such a sweet and innocent person”.

In the statement, read to the court by Det Garda Nuala Burke, Mr Bolger said Dunbar had inflicted “unimaginable despair, grief and heartache” on the family.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott said Mr Muldoon’s life and the challenges he faced had been brought to the forefront by the “eloquent” statements made by his family as he sentenced Dunbar to life imprisonment. He had previous convictions under the Theft Act, for possession of drugs and for Road Traffic Act violations.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, for Dunbar, indicated that his client intends to appeal the verdict.

‘Senseless’

Speaking outside the court, Supt Ian Lackey said hoped the verdict would offer Mr Muldoon’s family some comfort.

The trial heard that Mr Muldoon was living as a homeless person in Tallaght before he died and that people in Glenshane would feed him and give him clothes. He knew the accused and was hanging out with a small group of people from the area, including Dunbar, on the night he died.

Most of the group went home around 11pm and at 11.50pm a camera on Glenshane Drive caught Dunbar leading Mr Muldoon into the park, helping him over a low wall on the way in. Twenty-three minutes later Dunbar, having carried out the murder, could be seen back in Glenshane Drive on his own.

At one point he held Mr Muldoon’s Zimmer frame over his head as he walked towards his grandmother’s house, where he was living at the time. Mr Muldoon’s body was discovered the next morning.

About 24 hours after the stabbing, Dunbar and relatives went to a garda station. He revealed that he had gone into the park with Mr Muldoon and had a “blackout” due to drink and drugs but said he knew he had stabbed him. His lawyers argued that he was too intoxicated to form an intent and therefore did not have the necessary intent for a murder conviction.