THE HIGH Court has remanded in custody a convicted murderer and rapist whose extradition is being sought by the British authorities.
Mark Trayton Smith (47), of Cheltenham, England, was remanded in continuing custody by Mr Justice Michael Peart to allow lawyers time to study the extradition request.
The UK authorities claim Trayton Smith breached the conditions of a licence for his early release from a British prison during the mid-1990s, having serving 13 years of a life sentence imposed for murder.
Trayton Smith, a former bank worker, was convicted at Swansea Crown Court in 1983 of murdering Albert Richards at Burry Port, Dyfed, Wales, on August 31st, 1982. Mr Richards, who worked with Trayton Smith at a bank in the town, was the victim of an unprovoked knife attack.
Trayton Smith was released from prison in 1995 on licence under certain conditions and is thought to have moved to Ireland some time after that.
He was subsequently convicted at the Central Criminal Court in July 2000 of the rape of a young woman at Nimmo’s Pier in Galway city on June 5th, 1999. His victim, a 21-year-old English tourist, was attacked at 5am.
During the victim’s 20-minute ordeal, Trayton Smith grabbed her neck so tightly that she blacked out.
Mr Justice Brian McCracken imposed a 12-year prison sentence on Trayton Smith, who was arrested by gardaí last week after his release from prison.