Kildare man jailed for life for shotgun murder of best friend

Darren Wynne, aged twenty-one from Ballyroe in County Kildare, has been sentenced to life imprisonment following his conviction for the murder of Jamie Lindsay at the Central Criminal Court. Lindsay, also twenty, died from a shotgun wound sustained on April 6th, 2013, at Coney Green in Athy, when Wynne discharged a sawn-off weapon at close range. Wynne maintained his innocence regarding the murder charge and initially offered a guilty plea to manslaughter, which prosecutors rejected. He raised provocation as a defence during trial, contending the victim had made threats against him. A jury of eight men and four women deliberated for nearly five hours before unanimously finding him guilty on July 10th. He was also convicted of possessing the sawn-off shotgun and ammunition with intent to endanger life. The life sentence was imposed on July 22nd following sentencing proceedings before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan. Further sentencing on the firearms offences was subsequently delayed pending probation and psychological assessment. In November, the court imposed additional terms of twelve years for possession of the shotgun and ammunition with intent to endanger life, and eight years for possession of the firearm in suspicious circumstances, with the final two years of each suspended. These sentences run concurrently with the life term. Two men were charged alongside Wynne in connection with the fatal incident. Quentin Monaghan, aged twenty-one of Stradbally, County Laois, and James Seery, aged twenty-one of Athy, both pleaded guilty to manslaughter during trial and to possessing the sawn-off shotgun in suspicious circumstances. Monaghan received eight years with two years suspended, whilst Seery received seven years with three years suspended, with concurrent sentences imposed for firearms offences. Mr Justice Sheehan acknowledged Monaghan's guilty plea, cooperation with gardaí, and expressions of remorse in mitigation. A victim impact statement was read on behalf of Lindsay's sister during proceedings.