Courts / Galway / Report
Galway woman jailed for killing her former partner loses sentence appeal
Summary
Maura Thornton, 33, from Inverin, Connemara, was convicted of manslaughter for stabbing 59‑year‑old Kevin Joyce to death outside her Salthill apartment on 31 July 2011. A jury at the Central Criminal Court found her not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter and imposed a 10‑year sentence, with the final three years suspended by Mr Justice Barry White on 13 March 2013. In the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan upheld the sentence, noting that Thornton and Joyce had a shared interest in Celtic studies and had met at University College Galway in 2011, where a relationship developed that involved excessive alcohol consumption. Thornton had been sober for six weeks before the incident, but Joyce's repeated attempts to contact her led to her ending her sobriety and drinking heavily on the night of the murder.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Galway woman jailed for killing her former partner loses sentence appeal. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- July 31 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- March 13 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2015-07-21 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Outcome: Counsel for Thornton, Blaise O'Carroll SC, submitted that the sentence was excessive and the judge gave insufficient weight to mitigating factors beyond her great remorse and offer to plead guilty to manslaughter. Mr Justice Sheehan said the sentencing judge carefully identified 10 years as the appropriate starting point and he "quite correctly" mitigated the sentence by suspending the final three years on terms designed to incentivise Thornton's rehabilitation.
Places mentioned
Topics
Related court reports
- Appearance of tips machine in cafe that pulled in €5k unexplained, tribunal notes
- Judge speaks out about toxic masculinity while jailing young man for rape
- 'You ruined my life,' rape victim tells older brother
- Retired Franciscan brother jailed for 11 years for raping boy
- Lab had to decontaminate first aid room after technician found to have been napping, wearing lead-exposed work gear, tribunal told
- Lithuanian man admits engaging in terrorist plot to attack mosque
If a fact, identity, locality or legal outcome needs review, email the newsroom with this report's details prefilled.
Email a correction request