A 26-year-old Dublin man who murdered Sara Neligan has been jailed for life at the Central Criminal Court.
Brian McBarron, with an address at Wintergarden Apartments, Pearse Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty this morning to murdering the 31-year-old nurse at that address on a date between June 13th and 14th, 2007.
The victim was the daughter of prominent heart surgeon Maurice Neligan.
The court was told McBarron had five previous convictions, the most recent of which was in January 2007 for possession of a flick-knife. He received another conviction in 2005 for assault causing serious harm, for which he was given a two-year jail sentence that was suspended for five years.
Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the mandatory life sentence. He heard that Ms Neligan's throat was cut and she suffered three penetrating stab wounds. McBarron has not given an explanation for the attack.
Ms Neligan had been planning to leave McBarron on the day she died and the alarm was raised by a friend who had been expecting her to arrive in Wexford.
The friend contacted gardai who found Ms Neligan’s body covered in blood on a double bed in her home.
Prosecuting counsel Paul Coffey read a victim impact statement to the court on behalf of the Neligan family.
The family said: “Sara was the middle child of our family. She was a beautiful, kind, caring and dignified young woman. Her passing, long before her proper time, leaves us, her parents, sisters and brothers little consolation save that of having known her. We shall take our cherished memories of her with us all the days of our lives until we meet again in a bright and happier place."
Detective Sergeant Brian Duffy told prosecuting counsel the couple had met months earlier in Waterford and lived together in the Pearse Street flat.
One month before Ms Neligan’s death her friend Martina Keogh noticed bruising on her arms. Days before her murder Ms Neligan told Ms Keogh she wanted to leave the defendant. She arranged to go to Ms Keogh in Wexford without telling McBarron that she was leaving him.
Ms Keogh expected the deceased arrive in Gorey on the 7.40 a.m. train from Heuston on Thursday June 14th, 2007. Ms Keogh became concerned when Ms Neligan did not appear. She repeatedly rang Ms Neligan’s mobile phone but got no answer.
At 10.26am McBarron rang Ms Keogh from Ms Nelligan’s phone and said she had a stomach upset and had gone to Blackrock Clinic. Ms Keogh became suspicious as Ms Neligan was never without her mobile. Ms Keogh rang Ms Neligan’s mother to get her address and then contacted gardai.
At 10.50am gardai tried and failed to get into the flat. Ms Keogh then heard from McBarron that Ms Neligan was in bed and would call when she woke up.
Gardai returned to the apartment at 7.30 p.m and spent half an hour trying to get a response.
McBarron opened the door at 8pm He initially said Ms Neligan had gone away for the weekend but then said: “I have done a horrible thing."
Gardai found Ms Neligan's body face up on a bed and covered in blood. McBarron told gardai: “I wanted to die and I wanted to take her with me." He said they had not argued and that he wanted to take her with him because she was his.
McBarron’s mother arrived to accompany him to Pearse Street Garda station and on the way there he admitted killing Ms Neligan. He was interviewed six times in detention and admitted the killing each time.
He agreed that he knew Ms Neligan was planning to get the train to Wexford. He said he did not know what had happened to him. He went into the kitchen and got a knife. Ms Neligan was on the sofa when he cut her throat. She struggled and managed to get to the bathroom where she died after he stabbed her “a good few times”.
A postmortem by Professor Marie Cassidy revealed Ms Neligan had died from three penetrating stab wounds, two to her chest and one to her neck, and a “cut-throat” injury.
McBarron cleaned up and threw away clothes and personal items. He then went to a hardware store and bought a blue nylon rope with which to hang himself. The rope was found fashioned as a noose and hanging from the ceiling beside the bed.
Gardai viewed CCTV footage which showed the couple going for a meal at hotel near their home on the evening of June 13th, 2007. Ms Neligan was last captured by CCTV walking home at around 10.30pm.
McBarron was recorded carrying three plastic bags to bins at 2.10 p.m. on June 14th. Blood stained clothes were later recovered from a refuse dump and DNA matching the defendant and the deceased was found on the items.
When charged with Ms Neligan’s murder he said: “I am deeply sorry for what I done."
Defence counsel Richard Kean read a “short statement of contrition” to the court in which McBarron said: “I wish to apologise to the family and friends of Sara for this brutal and thoughtless crime”.
He said she was “a beautiful and talented young woman who had the whole world to live for and should not have died in the way that she did”.
McBarron said he hoped his imprisonment would ease the pain of Ms Neligan’s loved ones. He said he would give his life to have her back and would never forgive himself.
“I will live the rest of my life in shame and embarrassment”, he said.
McBarron had four previous District Court convictions for road traffic offences, criminal damage and possession of a flick knife. He was also given a two-year suspended sentence in December 2005 by Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court for causing serious harm.
In their victim impact statement the Neligan family thanked those who had helped them “in this dreadful time”. They particularly thanked Det. Mark Kavanagh and gardai who made things “a little bit more bearable”. They also thanked the “thousands of people, many previously unknown to us, who stepped forward to offer their support in our hour of need”.
“Many lent us the strength they had derived from similar tragedies. God bless you all. This family will never forget you," the statement said.
Brendan Walsh, solicitor, family friend and Sherriff of Dublin City, spoke on behalf of Ms Neligan's parents Maurice and Patricia Neligan outside court. He said they were very relieved that this process was completed. While nothing could bring back their beloved Sara, they could at least now begin to get on with their lives. They thanked gardai and prosecutors for the careful handling of the case and asked that their privacy be respected.