Courts / Dublin / Report
Chainsaw murderer Paul Wells Snr fails in bid to overturn conviction
Summary
Paul Wells Snr, aged 55, was convicted of murder after shooting Kenneth O'Brien in the back of the head and dismembering him with a chainsaw, disposing of the torso in a suitcase found in the Grand Canal. He claimed self‑defence, arguing he shot O'Brien when the gun fell and he feared being shot. His lawyers argued the trial judge's charge to the jury was incoherent and that the burden of proof was reversed. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, stating the judge had adequately instructed the jury on self‑defence and that no fundamental injustice had occurred. Wells was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2018, with no mention of a suspended portion or effective custody in the article. The case involved the discovery of O'Brien's torso and other body parts in the canal, and a history of financial transfers between the parties. The appeal was rejected in its entirety.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Chainsaw murderer Paul Wells Snr fails in bid to overturn conviction. Charges or matters: murdering the 33-year-old at his home on January 15 or 16, 2016; murder by a unanimous jury at the Central Criminal Court before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- January 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 15 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 15, 2016 Incident
- 2023-11-30 Publication
Why: At the Court of Appeal hearing, Brendan Kelly KC, for Wells, told the three-judge court that Ms Justice Carmel Stewart's charge to the jury could have been "incoherent, disjointed and incomprehensible" to lay jurors because of its structure and it "not being the most straightforward" in parts. CNI source report
Case subjects
Background Person
Charges: murdering the 33-year-old at his home on January 15 or 16, 2016; murder by a unanimous jury at the Central Criminal Court before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and was sentenced to life imprisonment (Alleged Or Contested)
Outcome: Paul Wells Snr, who was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a father-of-one in the back of the head before dismembering him and dumping his body parts into a suitcase found in the Grand Canal, has failed in a bid to overturn his conviction.
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