Mother tells court murderer stole daughter’s future as George Turner gets life sentence

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

George Turner was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court on 10 October 2025 for murdering Emma McCrory, 45, by setting fire to her home in Clontarf on 15 December 2022. McCrory died after inhaling carbon monoxide and other gases from the fire.

Her mother, Pauline Costello, told the court: “You took her life and stole her future. You left two children growing up without their mother.” Turner had pleaded guilty earlier that week. He told gardaí he set fire to McCrory’s bedclothes and left when they began to smoulder; he later said he had not intended to kill her.