Youth who killed teen he found in bedroom with sister is jailed for 5 years

A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to five years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court for the manslaughter of a teenager in Castlebar, County Mayo. The defendant, who cannot be named under court order, was convicted in July 2017 of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Dovydas Jenkas in the early hours of December 19, 2015. The victim, from Mount Street in Claremorris, died from a single stab wound. Justice Eileen Creedon imposed a headline sentence of nine years, reduced to six years with the final year suspended, taking into account the defendant's age at the time—he was fifteen—and subsequent conduct. The judge noted he immediately admitted responsibility, expressed genuine remorse, and has cooperated fully with gardaí and probation services. She found no evidence of prior conflict between the youths and highlighted that the defendant was armed while the victim was not. Sentencing was delayed multiple times owing to the defendant's medical condition, requiring brain surgery. The victim's family has stated they remain devastated by his death.