Courts / Limerick / Report

Suspended sentence for mother-of-four who withheld information on 2006 Limerick murder

Date
2015-04-28

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Limerick

Summary

Mary Maloney, a 47-year-old Limerick mother of four, was sentenced in the Central Criminal Court for withholding information related to the 2006 murder of Noel Crawford. Although initially pleading not guilty, Ms. Maloney changed her plea to guilty before the jury, a move accepted by the prosecution. The court heard that the charges stemmed from events on December 17-18, 2006, when her daughter, Jennifer Fitzgerald, was abducted and threatened with a gun. Ms. Maloney allegedly failed to disclose information she knew or believed would assist in securing the apprehension of the perpetrator. Mr. Justice Carroll Moran noted that while withholding information in a murder case is serious, he considered mitigating factors including the guilty plea, the traumatic context of her daughter's abduction, and the fact that her lack of cooperation did not prevent the prosecution of two others—one convicted of murder and one of manslaughter. The judge disregarded her previous convictions from her mid-teens. He imposed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for the same period, with a bond of €100. The judge acknowledged that the plea removed trauma from victims and affirmed that the jury's presence had induced the guilty plea.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Suspended sentence for mother-of-four who withheld information on 2006 Limerick murder. Charges or matters: manslaughter." Mr Gillane told the court that Ms Maloney has a number of previous convictions including one for which she received a custodial sentence when she was in her mid teens; count seven which is a charge of withholding information – information she could have known would have been of material assistance," he said. "It is always serious to withhold information from gardai, particularly when the offence is one of murder," said Mr Justice Moran. "The aggravating factor is that somebody lost their life and was murdered – the wrong person was murdered as it was seen; withholding information. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

December 18 2006 Incident
February 2011 Incident
December 17th 2006 Other
December 18th Incident
December 17th Hearing Or Sentence
2015-04-28 Publication

Case subjects

Jennifer Fitzgerald

Accused

Charges: manslaughter." Mr Gillane told the court that Ms Maloney has a number of previous convictions including one for which she received a custodial sentence when she was in her mid teens; count seven which is a charge of withholding information – information she could have known would have been of material assistance," he said. "It is always serious to withhold information from gardai, particularly when the offence is one of murder," said Mr Justice Moran. "The aggravating factor is that somebody lost their life and was murdered – the wrong person was murdered as it was seen (Alleged Or Contested)

Mary Maloney

Accused

Charges: withholding information (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty