Courts / Dublin / Report
On-the-run murderer who beat teen to death voluntarily surrenders
Summary
Thomas McCabe, 56, who was convicted in 1990 of murdering 16‑year‑old Richard Hunt in London, voluntarily surrendered to Northern Irish authorities after two years on the run. He had been released on licence in December 2008, but his licence was revoked in January 2018 following breaches. In August, Gardaí arrested him in Dublin under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Laganside Courts. McCabe gave evidence before Mr Justice Paul Burns, consenting to serve the remainder of his life sentence in Northern Ireland. Mr Burns remanded him in custody, to be surrendered in less than ten days, for licence breaches that involved leaving the jurisdiction without notifying Northern authorities. McCabe expressed concerns about his safety in prison, seeking assurance that he would be kept apart from the general prison population. The case highlights the ongoing enforcement of licence conditions and the handling of a convicted murderer who had absconded from the jurisdiction.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: On-the-run murderer who beat teen to death voluntarily surrenders. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted
When:
- October 1990 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 2008 Incident
- January 2018 Incident
- December 2018 Adjournment
- 2020-10-28 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; McCabe had been sentenced to life by the court for the murder but was sent back to his native Northern Ireland to serve out his sentence. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in October, 1990, for the murder of teenager Richard Hunt – a visiting cousin of McCabe's then-girlfriend – who was attacked with a scaffolding pole by a drunken McCabe at her London home.; Mr Justice Burns remanded McCabe in custody to be surrendered to authorities in the North in less than 10 days for breaches of his licence – caused by leaving the jurisdiction without notifying Northern authorities.
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