Courts / Kildare / Report

Life for man who murdered 'thoughtful, charitable and generous' retiree who had taken him into his home

Date
2025-05-19

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Newbridge

County
Kildare

Summary

A 24‑year‑old man, Brian Ibe, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 65‑year‑old Peter Kennedy, a retired probation officer who had taken Ibe and his mother into his home after learning of their homelessness. The Central Criminal Court jury rejected Ibe's defence of not guilty by reason of insanity and convicted him of both the murder and an assault on Garda Brendan O'Donnell. Ibe was found to have schizophrenia by two psychiatrists, though a prosecution psychiatrist disagreed. The jury deliberated for just under seven hours and returned a unanimous guilty verdict. Justice Melanie Greally imposed a mandatory life sentence for the murder, back‑dated to Ibe's custody on 29 April 2020, and a 12‑month prison term for the assault on the Garda. The victim's sister delivered a moving impact statement describing Kennedy as a thoughtful, charitable and generous man who suffered a cruel and terrifying end.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Life for man who murdered 'thoughtful, charitable and generous' retiree who had taken him into his home. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Not guilty by reason of insanity

When:

April 28 Incident
May 12, 2020 Incident
April 29, 2020 Incident
September 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
April 28, 2020 Incident
December 2019 Incident
Christmas Other
Christmas 2019 Other
2025-05-19 Publication

Case subjects

Unnamed 24-year-old

Convicted Person

Plea: Not guilty

Finding: Not guilty by reason of insanity

Outcome: Not guilty by reason of insanity; On the murder charge, Ms Justice Greally imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison, backdated to the date Ibe went into custody, April 29, 2020.; A consultant psychiatrist had told the jury that the first time Ibe reported hearing voices in his head was over a year after he was remanded in custody, on the same day his awareness of the possibility of the special verdict was first documented.