Nicola Brennan sentenced for manslaughter of former housemate

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

Nicola Brennan was sentenced to nine years in prison for the manslaughter of Juris Viktorovs, with the final 12 months suspended for two years. The proceedings were reported on 14 October 2024.

Brennan stabbed Mr Viktorovs at their shared home in Shillelagh, Ballyconnell, County Wicklow, on 10 February 2022. She had pleaded not guilty to murder. Following a month-long trial, the jury could not agree a verdict. In June 2024, the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted her guilty plea to manslaughter.

At the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul McDermott set a headline sentence of 12 years, reducing it to nine years after considering Brennan’s guilty plea, remorse and efforts at rehabilitation. He suspended the final 12 months for two years on condition that she be of good behaviour, work with probation services to address her addiction needs and participate in any treatment deemed necessary. The sentence was backdated to 19 July 2022, when she first went into custody.

The judge said the stabbing involved a high degree of recklessness and that Brennan had been under no threat and had not been provoked. He said the killing arose during an evening after everyone concerned had spent the day drinking heavily, and noted that gardaí had described the scene as chaotic.