Viorel Doroscan and Otniel Richardo Clejan jailed for life for murder of Mahamud Ilyas
This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.
Viorel Doroscan (23) and Otniel Richardo Clejan (24) have been sentenced to life in prison at the Central Criminal Court for the murder of 22-year-old Mahamud Ilyas, whose body was found in a wooded area at Belgree Lane, Co Meath, in December 2022.
A jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after deliberating for seven hours and 52 minutes over four days. It rejected the defence case that the two men had acted in self-defence. The prosecution case was that the two men were involved in the sale and supply of drugs, and that the killing followed a row over a stolen bag of cannabis.
The trial heard that the two men beat Mr Ilyas at an apartment in Blanchardstown by stamping on him, kicking him and striking his head with a hammer. They tied his hands and feet and took him to Belgree Lane, where they left him to die from his injuries. A State pathologist said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Handing down the mandatory life sentence, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the two men had suffered a "massive loss of control and reason" when they assaulted Mr Ilyas. He said a distressing aspect of the crime was the disrespectful and callous way the seriously injured Mr Ilyas was dealt with afterwards. The court heard that Clejan had no relevant previous convictions, while Doroscan had three previous convictions relating to drugs. Mr Ilyas's mother, Muna Ali, said in a statement read to the court that he had high hopes for a career in football.
Two co-accused have not yet been sentenced. Robert Burns (59), who lived at the apartment, previously pleaded guilty to impeding the arrest or prosecution of Doroscan and Clejan by cleaning Mr Ilyas's blood from the carpet and walls. Lorenzo Cantaragiu (22) was found guilty by a jury of four counts of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of the two men. Lawyers for both will make submissions to the court on July 4th before Mr Justice Hunt sentences them.