Courts / Dublin / Report
UK gunman jailed for life for Kinahan Cartel murder
Summary
The Special Criminal Court sentenced David Hunter to life imprisonment for the 2016 murder of Michael Barr at the Sunset House pub in Dublin. Presiding Judge Alexander Owens, sitting with Judges Gerard Griffin and David McHugh, backdated the sentence to April 2019, when Hunter was arrested in the UK on a European Arrest Warrant. Hunter, a 42-year-old Liverpool native, had pleaded not guilty but was found guilty based on compelling evidence, including DNA from a ski-mask recovered from the getaway car that matched his profile. The court rejected his defence that he was in Dublin for a concert and that the mask was lost during a prior car-stealing trip. Hunter is the second individual convicted for this Kinahan Cartel-linked killing; Eamon Cumberton was convicted in January 2018. During sentencing, Detective Garda Colm Kelly noted Hunter's 15 previous convictions. Prosecution counsel Mr Barr argued Hunter should serve his full sentence in Ireland to avoid transfer to Liverpool. Detective Superintendent Colm Murphy described the murder as cold and callous, confirming the investigation remains ongoing to bring all involved to justice. Victim impact statements from Barr's sister Noeleen and former partner Jade O'Shea highlighted the lasting trauma on Barr's five children and family.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: UK gunman jailed for life for Kinahan Cartel murder. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 25, 2016 Incident
- January 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- April 2019 Incident
- February 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 16, 2019 Other
- 2020-11-02 Publication
Why: It is hard enough to lose a family member in normal circumstances but to have to watch your brother's body being removed from a murder scene in a red bag from where he work and was loved is mental torture because those images are forever accessible online. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Outcome: Delivering sentence, Mr Justice Alexander Owens, presiding, sitting with Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge David McHugh, backdated Hunter's life-sentence to April 2019, when he was first arrested on a European Arrest Warrant in the UK. Mr Barr also called for Hunter to serve his full sentence in Ireland. "The problem is; when he serves his sentence he'll probably be sent back to Liverpool to prison there which is not right.
Convicted Person
Defendant
Places mentioned
- Special Criminal Court
- Sunset House
- Walsh Road
Topics
Stage Sentence Theft Violent Crime
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