Family disappointed at four years in jail for man who killed over €100 debt
Last month, at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, a jury found William Gilsenan, aged 24, not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Edward Fitzgerald, 29, in a car park outside the killer’s home at The Green, Larch Hill, Oscar Traynor Rd, Santry, Dublin 17, on October 17, 2014.
Sentencing Gilsenan, Mr Justice Paul Butler said he accepted the jury’s decision that it was not an intentional killing.
The victim’s sister, Nicola O’Dea, spoke outside the Criminal Courts of Justice after the brief hearing.
“Our family are disappointed at the sentence handed down this morning,” she said.
“It seems unfair that our brother’s life was taken at 29 years of age and the accused will be out before he even reaches that age. We have a life sentence to live with.”
Earlier this month, at his sentencing hearing, Gilsenan told the court that he was ashamed of what he did. He said he had destroyed a family and “would never live it down”.
On the same day, reading from a victim impact statement, Ms O’Dea said she and her sister Lisa have to go on with their lives, for the sake of the younger members of the family, but their parents have struggled every day.
“They have yet to sleep a night without medication since this happened,” she said.
“My mam has since been prescribed anti-depressants, something she will take to get through each day for the rest of her life.”
Mr Justice Butler said yesterday that he was impressed that Gilsenan had no history of violence until the killing.
An aggravating factor was that the accused brought a knife to the scene but did not intend to use it.
The judge sentenced Gilsenan to six years in prison with two years suspended.
