Courts / Dublin / Report

Gunman interrupts statement of victim's mother as he's given life for "cold-blooded" murder of Gareth Hutch

Date
2018-11-02

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a Special Criminal Court hearing, Jonathan Keogh, 33, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the deliberate and callous murder of Gareth Hutch, 35, who was shot dead outside Avondale House flats on 24 May 2016. Keogh was found to have fired the fatal shots in a cold‑blooded manner and to have been involved in almost every aspect of the planning. Thomas Fox, 31, was also convicted of murder and sentenced to life, found to have contributed to the planning and acted under Keogh's direction. Regina Keogh, 41, mother of five, was convicted of murder for colluding with her brother to facilitate the killing and received a mandatory life sentence. The court noted Keogh's 22 prior convictions, Fox's 106 prior convictions, and the evidence of Keogh's involvement in the planning and execution of the murder. The sentencing followed a nine‑week trial that ended in July.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Gunman interrupts statement of victim's mother as he's given life for "cold-blooded" murder of Gareth Hutch. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

May 24, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
May 23, 2016 Incident
May 24 2016 Incident
May 22, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
August 23, 2017 Incident
2018-11-02 Publication

Why: Recounting the evidence, Mr Justice Hunt said the court had warned itself that it would be dangerous to convict Jonathan Keogh on the basis of Mary McDonnell's evidence without independent corroboration because she must be regarded as an accomplice as well as a witness who had not been "entirely consistent and truthful" in her testimony. CNI source report

Case subjects

Jonathan Keogh

Convicted Person

Outcome: Handing down the mandatory life sentence to Jonathan Keogh, the judge said his conduct in court today spoke of "a disposition which was a violent and dangerous one". Fucking bastards, rats." Sentencing Fox to life imprisonment, the judge said it was obvious to the court that the defendant had a lower-level of culpability than Jonathan Keogh and was a "follower" of his. "He really should not have gone to Champion's Avenue that morning but he did," Mr Justice Hunt said, adding that Fox ran his defence in a very sensible and reasonable manner but the evidence did not allow for it to be found in his favour.

Thomas Fox

Defendant

Outcome: Fucking bastards, rats." Sentencing Fox to life imprisonment, the judge said it was obvious to the court that the defendant had a lower-level of culpability than Jonathan Keogh and was a "follower" of his. "He really should not have gone to Champion's Avenue that morning but he did," Mr Justice Hunt said, adding that Fox ran his defence in a very sensible and reasonable manner but the evidence did not allow for it to be found in his favour.