Two Dublin brothers have been jailed for life after a Central Criminal Court jury found them guilty of murdering a father of six in front of his wife and children.
Warren and Jeffrey Dumbrell, aged 36 and 30, had denied murdering Christopher Cawley outside his home at the Tyrone Place flats in Inchicore, in October 2006.
But following almost ten hours of deliberations spread over two days, the jury unanimously found Jeffrey Dumbrell guilty, and convicted Warren Dumbrell by a majority ten-two verdict.
There was a heavy Garda presence in the court as the verdict was returned, but neither of the Dumbrells gave any reaction. Mr Cawley's widow, Janette Cawley, wept silently.
In her victim impact statement, she said her family had been left devastated by their loss, and her children cannot see a future without their father. One of her sons, who was just five years old when he
witnessed his father's murder, did not talk for three months after the killing.
Her eldest daughter, Máiread, who also witnessed the attack and gave evidence against the Dumbrells, dropped out of school and took on Christy's role in the home.
Mrs Cawley said she can no longer work and is dependent on her children. "I miss him" she said.
In handing down the mandatory life sentence to each of the Dumbrells
this evening, Mr Justice Paul Butler, said possession of knives was clearly "absolutely as dangerous as
firearms" and was not to be tolerated.
The court heard that the Dumbrells had hunted Mr Cawley down, and chased him into the flats, attacking him with a knife and a hurley when he fell on the stairwell.
Mrs Cawley told the court that she screamed and pleaded with them to stop, but they continued with the attack.
Her 33-year-old husband was stabbed six times. The fatal wound severing the major blood vein in his leg and causing him to bleed to death within minutes.
The court also heard that as Mr Cawley's daughter was collapsed screaming on the ground, one of the Dumbrells said "your daddy's gone now" as they walked away from the scene.
Jeffrey Dumbrell also took the witness stand telling the court that he and Warren had only gone to Tyrone Place as "minders" for their younger brother, who had arranged a fight with Mr Cawley on the evening in question.
Dumbrell said they just wanted to give Mr Cawley a "few slaps" alleging that he had ran at their brother with a knife some days prior.
He also told the court that Mr Cawley threatened him and Warren with a knife when they got to Tyrone Place, but he grabbed the knife from him and claimed he stabbed Mr Cawley in self-defence.
The prosecution urged the jury to disregard Dumbrell's evidence, saying he was an unreliable witness and lacked credibility. The ten men and two women agreed, finding the brothers guilty of murder.