Courts / Sligo / Report
McGinley guilty of murdering Sligo pensioner
Summary
A jury at the Central Criminal Court has found Simon McGinley, aged 30 of Connaughton Road Car Park in Sligo, guilty of the murder of Eugene Gillespie, a 67-year-old retired telecoms broker. McGinley had initially denied the murder charge but admitted manslaughter, a plea the State rejected. He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and burglary at Mr Gillespie's Old Market Street home on 19 September 2012. Mr Gillespie was discovered tied up in his hallway two days after the assault and died in hospital following cardiac arrest. The jury, after five hours of deliberation, returned a unanimous guilty verdict on 3 April 2014. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan imposed a life sentence, backdated to 29 September 2012, with concurrent sentences of ten years for false imprisonment and seven years for burglary. A victim impact statement highlighted the family's trauma and called for enhanced resources for An Garda Síochána to protect vulnerable people.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: McGinley guilty of murdering Sligo pensioner. Charges or matters: the false imprisonment of Mr Gillespie and trespass to commit robbery at his home in Old Market Street on September 19, 2012. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- September 22, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 19, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- March 25 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 29, 2012 Incident
- May 28, 2005 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 28, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 21st Other
- September 2012 Other
- 2014-04-03 Publication
Why: McGinley told gardai he got in the gate of the house because "there was a tow bar at the bottom. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: the false imprisonment of Mr Gillespie and trespass to commit robbery at his home in Old Market Street on September 19, 2012 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan sentenced McGinley to life imprisonment, backdating it to September 29, 2012 for time spent in custody.
Places mentioned
- Dublin Central Criminal Court
- The Central Criminal Court
- Connaughton Road Car Park
- Sligo
- Old Market Street
- Connaughton Road Car Park
- court she attended Sligo Garda station
- Sligo
- Sligo General Hospital
Topics
Burglary Stage Sentence Violent Crime
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