A man jailed for five years yesterday for disposing of his murdered neighbour's body played golf hours after he helped to bury the victim's partially clothed body in a shallow grave.
Philip Charles Joseph McGroarty (31), of Caman Park, Ballykelly, Co Derry, received the jail sentence at Derry Crown Court yesterday. Last month he was found guilty by a majority 10-2 verdict after a nine-day trial of perverting the course of justice by disposing of the body of Jonathan Cairns (18), who was battered to death near his Loughamore Road home in Ballykelly in the early hours of April 25th, 1999.
The victim's body was found by his cousin, a police officer who was taking part in the search operation, in a shallow grave at Loughamore Forest Park 15 hours after he was last seen alive.
Judge Tom Burgess said that by his actions McGroarty, who is engaged to be married, had made a conscious and deliberate decision to obstruct the police investigation.
"Jonathan was savagely beaten, particularly about the head, and sustained serious injuries. He was then stripped of his clothing and bundled into the defendant's car and driven into a lonely spot where he was partially buried in a shallow grave," the judge said.
"The defendant showed a total lack of concern and compassion. He went about his life and later that day he played golf," he added.
"The way in which the body of Jonathan was treated would be regarded as grossly offensive by any right-thinking member of society and it caused considerable distress to the family who, for many hours, did not know what had happened to Jonathan and were horrified when they found out about the indignity inflicted to his body," he said.
Members of the Cairns and McGroarty families were in court during yesterday's hearing and, as he was taken from the dock by prison officers, McGroarty, who had shown no emotion in the dock, looked tearfully towards his family.
Speaking after the sentencing, the victim's parents, Raymond and Hazel Cairns, described the last three years as a living nightmare.
"This has been a very difficult time for us, and we will not be able to put a closure on this three-year living nightmare until those responsible for Jonathan's murder are put behind bars.
"What has made this particularly difficult for us is that one of our neighbours who were never harmed in any way has been jailed in connection with Jonathan's murder," Mr Cairns said.
His wife said the nine-day trial had been at times harrowing.
"To hear the evidence about how my son's body was disposed of was something no mother should ever have to endure," she said.
One of the detectives in the case said the police file on the murder of Jonathan Cairns was still open.
"This was a six-month investigation involving a team of 20 detectives who interviewed over 300 witnesses," he said.
"Our file on the murder is still open and active. It has been a very trying experience for the detectives in what was a very traumatic case. It was also harrowing for the Cairns family who are still in the unfortunate position that they don't know who killed their son."