A Portuguese national who murdered a young female trainee manager in Limerick's Jury's Inn was jailed for life yesterday for what the trial judge described as the most vicious and callous crime he has ever encountered.
Paulo Alexander Nascimento (27), a former member of the Portuguese Army, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Grainne Dillon (24), of Glounthan, Cork, at Jury's Inn on January 5th, 2002.
The court heard that Nascimento, who worked as a night porter at Jury's for just six days before the killing, shot Ms Dillon in the breast, thigh and lower pelvic area after robbing €3,000 from the hotel.
The court heard that he shot her at point-blank range three times and in two separate locations in the hotel, loading and reloading the shotgun each time.
Grainne's sister, Ms Aoife Dillon, begged the court to "never let this man out". In the witness box, Ms Dillon also held the Jury's Group accountable, alleging it was "criminally negligent". She told the court the family has asked the Health and Safety Authority to bring a prosecution against the hotel chain.
InspJohn Scanlon, Henry Street, Limerick, told the court that Nascimento had been in the country for a number of years and had just ended a relationship with a Limerick woman. Two days before the killing he stole a shotgun and 18 shotgun cartridges from the woman's house, intending to rob the hotel to get money to return to Portugal.
Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the night of the murder, he took €3,000 from the hotel safe and cash registers. He and Grainne Dillon were the only employees on the premises, the court heard.
Insp Scanlon said he confronted Ms Dillon as she was putting money in the cash register in the restaurant downstairs. He ordered her to move backward towards the kitchen area, where he made her empty her pockets to get her keys and mobile phone.
"At this stage, she attempted to walk away" when he loaded the shotgun and shot her in the right breast at point-blank range. Insp Scanlon said Nascimento walked her into a storeroom, reloaded the shotgun and shot her in the thigh.
He then went upstairs to the reception area and put the proceeds of the robbery and Ms Dillon's keys and phone into a bag and hid it in a nearby laneway. The court heard Nascimento returned to the hotel and broke into a colleague's locker to get a clean shirt as his was stained with the victim's blood.
Insp Scanlon said Nascimento, believing Grainne was still alive, returned to the storeroom, reloaded the shotgun and shot her in the pelvic area. Nascimento went voluntarily to Henry Street Garda station after a guest in the hotel spotted him.
The court heard that Grainne could have survived the first shot to her breast had she not been shot a second and third time.
Mr Patrick McCarthy SC, for Nascimento, told the court there was provision to transfer Nascimento to a prison in Portugal.