Michael Leonard jailed for murdering Mary O’Keeffe in Cork

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Michael Leonard was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court on 14 December 2022 for murdering Mary O’Keeffe in Doneraile, Co Cork.

Leonard pleaded guilty to the murder of his former partner, who was 72. The court heard he arranged to meet her at Drumdeer Woods on 4 February 2021; within minutes of her getting into his car, he set it alight.

The court heard that CCTV showed Leonard near O’Keeffe’s home 45 times between Christmas 2020 and February 2021. The judge imposed the mandatory life sentence after hearing details of the attack and the loss to her family.