Courts / Cork / Report

UK seeks convicted murderer who came to Ireland

Summary

In a High Court hearing on 4 March 2014, Irish authorities sought the surrender of Michael Anthony Balmer, 62, a convicted murderer who had entered Ireland two years earlier after conditional release from a UK prison. Balmer, last known to reside in Cornwall, England, was arrested by Gardaí in Ballydehob, Co. Cork in 2012 following his release from prison a year earlier. The Minister for Justice's counsel, Diarmaid McGuinness SC, informed the court that UK authorities were requesting Balmer's surrender for a single murder offence under common law. Balmer had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1984 for the killing of a woman in Devon, England, on 28 July 1983. He was released on licence in March 2011, a licence that was revoked in March 2012. Counsel for Balmer, Patrick McGrath SC, argued that Balmer had served the punitive part of his sentence and that any surrender for public protection would amount to preventative detention, which Irish courts prohibit.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: UK seeks convicted murderer who came to Ireland. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• July 28 1983 Incident
• February 18 2011 Incident
• March 2011 Other
• March 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 10 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2014-03-04 Publication

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report