Court archive
Court reports mentioning Corbet, Down
2014-05-23 · Laois
In May 2014 a man from Portlaoise, Robert Corbet, aged 25, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 30‑year‑old nanny Aoife Phelan. Corbet pleaded not guilty but admitted to strangling Phelan in his garage between 25 October and 7 November 2012. He claimed he had doubts about her pregnancy, that she threatened him, and that these threats caused him to lose control. He strangled her, covered her head with a plastic bag, tied her neck with cable ties, and placed her body in a barrel. He later buried the barrel in a pit on his property. Gardaí found the body and Corbet was convicted of murder. The jury found no provocation and the State described his actions as deliberate and calculated. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan imposed a mandatory life sentence. The Phelan family left the courthouse without comment.
2014-05-15 · Down
In a 2014 Central Criminal Court hearing, Robert Corbet, a 25‑year‑old from Sheffield Cross, Laois, was charged with the murder of 30‑year‑old nanny Aoife Phelan. Corbet pleaded not guilty but admitted manslaughter. He told Gardaí that he had snapped after Phelan threatened to ruin him if he walked away from her and her pregnancy. He claimed he had met her in his jeep on 25 October, that she had been "pushy" about not being in a relationship, and that he struck her on the head several times. Corbet said he then drove to Dublin, left her body on a bridge, and tried to dispose of it. He denied any recent phone contact about a pregnancy, but phone records and deleted WhatsApp messages were presented. The case was heard before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan.
2014-05-14 · Laois
A trial is ongoing at the Central Criminal Court regarding the murder of Aoife Phelan (30), whose body was discovered buried in a barrel in Capoley Portlaoise between 25 October and 7 November 2012. Robert Corbet of Sheffield Cross County Laois is accused of the murder but pleaded not guilty, though he admitted to manslaughter earlier this week. The plea of manslaughter was not accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Sergeant Liam Mulhall testified that gardai found evidence of a disturbance near Corbet's home on 6 November 2012, leading to an excavation where a barrel containing Phelan's remains was discovered. The discovery was described as 'the saddest and most gruesome discovery made' by Conor Devally SC defending. Betty Phelan, the mother of the deceased, stated that concerns arose when her daughter did not answer her phone on 26 October 2012, which was out of character for her. It was confirmed that Phelan had made a complaint to gardai in 2005 following an incident of non-consensual sex, which had deeply upset her. The trial continues before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and a jury of three women and nine men.
2014-05-13 · Laois
The trial of Robert Corbet (25) of Sheffield Cross County Laois, charged with the murder of Aoife Phelan (30) between 25 October and 7 November 2012, commenced at the Central Criminal Court. Corbet pleaded not guilty to the murder charge but admitted to manslaughter, a plea not accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The prosecution alleges that Corbet met Phelan at a nightclub, engaged in sexual contact without intercourse, and later repeatedly struck her before disposing of her body in an oil barrel at Capoley, Portlaoise. The cause of death is stated as asphyxia with blunt force trauma to the head and chest. The prosecution claims Corbet brought Phelan to his garage, restrained her, and disposed of her body. Garda Louise Young detailed that Phelan's father, Michael Phelan, reported her missing on 26 October 2012. Her mobile phone and handbag were later found in Corbet's vehicle. Corbet's statement to gardai indicated he had no sexual intercourse with Phelan and denied being the father of her unborn child. The trial, presided over by Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, continues with a jury of three women and nine men, with CCTV footage to be presented.