Lee Canavan jailed for life for role in 'Daithi Douglas' murder

Lee Canavan, a thirty-two-year-old Dublin man, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court for his role in the murder of David Douglas, a fifty-five-year-old businessman killed on 1 July 2016. Mr Douglas was shot six times at Shoestown, a shoe shop on Bridgefoot Street in Dublin's Liberties, in what the three-judge court characterised as a meticulously planned execution carried out as part of a joint enterprise. The court found Canavan guilty of participating in the conspiracy to murder Mr Douglas but determined there was insufficient forensic and identification evidence to establish beyond reasonable doubt that he was the gunman. Canavan, formerly of Rathfarnham in Dublin, had entered a not guilty plea to the murder charge. He was convicted following trial in May 2021 at the Special Criminal Court. In addition to the murder conviction, Canavan was found guilty of criminal damage relating to a stolen vehicle that was destroyed three days after the shooting in an apparent attempt to eliminate evidence. He received a concurrent five-year sentence on that count. The conviction represents the fourth person to face justice in connection with the killing. Frederick Thompson was jailed for life in 2018 following conviction at the Special Criminal Court. Nathan Foley received a six-year sentence in 2019 after pleading guilty to facilitating the murder as part of a criminal organisation, having acted as a driver and "foot soldier" during the coordinated operation that involved multiple vehicles. Gareth Brophy was imprisoned for ten years in 2020. Thompson subsequently appealed his conviction, but the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in January 2024, finding the CCTV evidence used to identify him was reliable and properly assessed.