Son is sentenced to life in prison for murdering his ill mother in her home
The brother of a man who murdered their ailing 58-year-old mother has told the Central Criminal Court that 'someone who should have protected' her had instead taken her life in the 'most cruel, violent and sadistic way possible'.
In a victim impact statement on Tuesday, Angela Canavan's son Keith Canavan said his brother Nigel did not just take their mother's life, but had also tried to take her dignity in the way he had killed her 'using the one method she feared the most'.
Keith also said his brother had 'portrayed her in the courtroom not as the woman she truly was, but as someone he could scapegoat to protect himself'.
He said his mother always had a fear of anyone touching her neck and 'to think that this was the way she died in the one way she had a deep fear of' was 'unthinkable' and 'beyond comprehension' to him.
READ MORE
Keith said Nigel had denied their mother 'even the smallest grace, both in her final moments and in how he spoke about her after'.
In his statement, Keith also said that anyone who would have known Nigel would have known how much he loved their mother, but his actions had not shown love.
Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said Ms Canavan was a well-loved and accomplished person and he said it 'must be beyond any mother's darkest imaginings that they would die at the hand of the child they gave birth to'.
Angela Canavan previously had a 'glittering career' as a psychotherapist. Photograph: Rip.ie
On Tuesday Nigel Canavan (39) was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted last month of murdering his mother.
Desmond Dockery SC, defending, said the defendant's brother Keith had made a passing reference in his victim impact statement that despite the violence inflicted by Nigel on their mother, anyone who knew Nigel would have known how much he loved his mother.
On May 16th, a jury convicted Nigel of murder, rejecting his claim he was provoked and defending himself from an attack by his mother, whom he strangled and smothered to death in her own home.
Nigel claimed that stab wounds to each of Ms Canavan's thighs, one of which tracked to 13.5cm in depth, were self-inflicted by his mother, who the trial heard had a 'glittering career' as a psychotherapist before succumbing to alcoholism.
Nigel also claimed he had acted in self-defence when his mother, who had a brain injury from a fall four years before her death, attacked him by swinging her open hands at him and trying to kick him.
Taking the stand during his trial, Nigel further accused his mother of deliberately provoking him by calling him the 'worst son in the world' and saying during a heated argument how she wished she had never had him.
The jury also rejected a suggestion by Nigel's defence that his mother's alleged insults so provoked him that he could be found guilty of manslaughter rather than murder.
A pathologist found that, besides being strangled and smothered, Ms Canavan had suffered a laceration to the top of her head, bruises to her face, body, arms and legs and three broken ribs.
Some injuries indicated she tried to defend herself from an attack, and bruises to her chest suggested she had been manhandled before her death, the court heard.
Nigel, with an address at Erris Gardens, Crossmolina, Co Mayo, had pleaded not guilty to his mother's murder at her home in St John's Terrace, Sligo, on May 1st, 2023.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
14 minutes ago
- Sunday World
Two teenage boys who raped girl in car at Limerick Races detained for six years
'gruesome' | 'This was a 16-year-old intoxicated girl in a vulnerable situation subjected to rape and sexual assault.' A third defendant (now 18) who was found guilty of aiding and abetting the rapes by moving the car in which it occurred was jailed for three and a half years. The daytime attack against the girl involved humiliation and degradation and was committed by offenders of a very young age, the Central Criminal Court heard. The teenage rapists and their families do not accept the verdicts of the jury and there was a heavy garda presence in court for sentencing today. Mr Justice Paul McDermott said that had the boys – who are all cousins - been adults at the time of the offending, the headline sentence for the rape offences would have been in the range of 15 years to life imprisonment. 'This was a 16-year-old intoxicated girl in a vulnerable situation subjected to rape and sexual assault,' he said. 'She was raped one after the other by (the two boys) and in the course of these rapes, she was sexually assaulted.' The girl was repeatedly saying no during the assaults. Further indignity and humiliation was heaped upon her by video footage being taken of the incident, the judge said. Stock image. Phot: Matt Browne/Sportsfile via Getty Images News in 90 Seconds - 5th June 2025 Handing down sentence, Mr Justice McDermott noted there was very little to be said in mitigation for the boys, as they have not expressed remorse or any understanding of the harm caused to the complainant. They must be sentenced as juveniles under the Children Act, in which detention is a last resort, the court heard. The judge accepted the third defendant, who aided and abetted the rapes, has taken some responsibility for his involvement but struggles to understand it. He noted they have no previous convictions and have been subject to some childhood trauma, with mental health difficulties in their families. They had a lack of understanding in the areas of sexual relations and consent, the court heard. Mr Justice McDermott sentenced the two rapists to a sentence of seven and a half years of detention, with the final 18 months suspended on a number of conditions, including that they engage in sexual offending programmes and have no contact whatsoever with the complainant. The judge noted this means that part of their sentence will be served in prison. He sentenced the third defendant to five years in jail as he is now over the age of 18 years. He suspended the final 18 months of this sentence on the same conditions. The three boys stood trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork earlier this year, with two of the boys (now aged 16 and 17) found guilty of sexually assaulting and raping the then 16-year-old girl in a car at the racecourse on December 26, 2022. They were 13 and 15 years old at the time. The third boy (now 18) was found guilty by the jury of four counts of aiding and abetting the rapes and sexual assaults following the six-week trial. The court heard he moved the car during the course of the attack. He was aged 15 at the time. He was acquitted of one count of false imprisonment. Video clips were taken of the incident by one of the boys, including one clip of the girl walking away from the car after she had been raped. When she found her friends, she was extremely upset and immediately told them what had happened to her, the court heard. The boys denied raping the girl, telling gardaí differing versions of events including one who said he was in Dublin on the day in question. They all eventually claimed it was a consensual encounter. Read more Detective Garda Lisa O'Regan told Dean Kelly SC, prosecuting, that the girl was socialising with her friends at the racecourse on the day in question. She was, in her own words, 'really drunk' when she got chatting to the three boys, Mr Kelly said. The court heard she agreed to go for a walk with one of the boys because she wanted to kiss him. Instead, she found herself in a car belonging to one of the boy's fathers where she was sexually assaulted and raped by two of them. The third boy moved the car at one point during the attack. The girl said she told the boys 'No' repeatedly and that she was on her period and had a tampon in. She said she told them she needed to go back to her friends, but they repeatedly said no and that she was 'fine'. When medically examined later that evening, she was found to have extensive bleeding and bruising. She was a virgin prior to the attack. The complainant (now aged 18) was not in court for the sentence hearing in Dublin. In a victim statement read out on her behalf by counsel, she described her fear and anxiety in the aftermath of the attack, during which she was 'begging them to get off me'. 'At the age of 16, I had my innocence stripped away from me,' she said. 'These two (boys) took what they wanted with no regrets.' She said her parents had to hear every 'vulgar' and 'gruesome' detail of what happened to her and that she will 'forever have guilt on my shoulders - not just for how it affected me, but everyone around me'. 'They not only took away the rest of my childhood, they took away the rest of my life,' she said. 'At the age of 16, I was raped. This is always something I will have to carry around. 'But what I can do is live with the fact that I told the truth.' The court heard the boys, who are all cousins, have no previous convictions. They are all in detention or custody since the guilty verdicts were handed down last April. The case was previously adjourned for a number of weeks for preparation of probation reports. Cathal McGreal, BL, defending the youngest of the three boys, said his client was then aged 13 and had no previous convictions. He said that a report before the court described him as mild-mannered, introverted and vulnerable from a mental health point of view. Counsel said his client made admissions and described him as 'not a particularly mature 13-year-old, and this was his first sexual experience'. The court heard that the boy's father and his family do not accept the verdict. Mr McGreal said his client wants to pursue his Junior Certificate and is interested in becoming a mechanic or a builder. He is against drugs and alcohol and wants to marry his girlfriend. Vincent Heneghan SC, defending the then 15-year-old boy, said his client comes from a 'good supportive family' and they are concerned for him. He stated that his client does not accept the jury's verdict and that this will limit any potential mitigation. Counsel said his client presents as intermittently distressed since going into custody and is not sleeping well. He said he is engaging in education and sport while in Oberstown. Mr Henaghan said the defendant has no issues with drugs or alcohol and outlined that there was no pre-planning to this offending. He asked the court to consider the reports that were before the court on behalf of his client and requested that the court be as lenient as possible. Donal Cronin BL, defending the third boy, said his sexual knowledge at the time was limited. He outlined that his client has no issues with drink or drugs and that sport has formed a major part of his life. Mr Cronin asked the court to fashion a sentence that would mark the wrongdoing but also include rehabilitation. He asked the court to consider the mitigating factors, including his client's culpability, his involvement and the fact he was a child at the time.
Irish Times
18 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Flutter weighs Illinois tax impact
Paddy Power owner Flutter is weighing how it will react to a betting tax imposed by state legislators in Illinois in the US. The US state's budget includes a 25 cents tax on every individual bet taken up to the first 20 million wagers, and 50 cents each past that point. Dublin-based Flutter's biggest subsidiary is Fanduel in the US, which has been expanding as individual states legalise sports betting. Speaking after its annual general meeting in Dublin on Thursday, Peter Jackson, chief executive, said that it would 'figure out' how to react and whether to pass the charge on to customers. READ MORE He noted that betting was not the only industry affected. Analysts speculate that it could cost Flutter tens of millions of dollars. Maryland is increasing its betting tax to 20 per cent from 15 per cent this month while other states are also considering raising their levies. The company moved its primary listing to the New York Stock Exchange last year, exiting the Dublin Euronext market at the same time. Mr Jackson said that the group was very pleased with the outcome despite reports that the volatility sparked by president Donald Trump's frequent policy shifts had put some investors off the US market. He added that there had been a 'step up' in liquidity there. Mr Jackson did not comment on the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission's recent announcement that it had begun an investigation of the betting industry. That move included dawn raids on business offices by commission staff, accompanied by Gardaí. Flutter last month cautioned that a run of sports results favouring customers could affect US profits this year. Mr Jackson stressed that Flutter was comfortable with the odds it offered customers, which ultimately determine its risk. 'We're very confident in our pricing,' he said. Flutter has businesses in the Republic, UK, Europe, the Americas and Australia.
Irish Times
18 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Boy (16) ‘at real risk of death' after targeting by drug dealers brought to secure care
A 16-year-old boy in State care 'at real risk of death' as he is targeted by drug dealers to whom he owes money was ordered to be picked by gardaí on Thursday and brought to a secure-care unit. In an unusual step, Tusla applied to the High Court for an interim secure care order on an ex-parte basis – where only one side is represented – to ensure neither the boy nor his father knew before the boy could be picked up. Judge John Jordan heard the teenager, who has a difficult family history and has been in care since 2023, was not staying in his current placement. 'He is essentially residing with father ... His behaviour has deteriorated in the last couple of months,' counsel for Tusla said. READ MORE 'There is a real threat to this child's life. He has become involved in drug-dealing, has amassed a drug debt and on [a date in March] two other teenagers present in his house ... when they left somebody shot at them.' One was injured, but gardaí advised the 16-year-old 'was the target for the attack' and 'there was an intent to kill'. The boy 'struggles to regulate his emotions', had abused care staff and was 'totally disengaged from education'. The judge was satisfied the boy's 'chaotic lifestyle', vulnerability and the 'real risk to his life' reached the threshold for an interim secure care order. A child or young person who is deemed to be at such a risk to themselves, or others, as to need therapeutic residential care may be detained in secure care by the High Court. Another boy, aged 13, who had barricaded himself in his room for months living on fizzy drinks and junk food, had gained four kilos since 'finally' entering secure care in April. A secure care order had been made in December. Supporting Tusla's application to extend the order for a further three months, David Leahy SC for the guardian ad litem – an independent person appointed by the court to be the voice of the child – said the boy had 'very significant attachment difficulties'. 'Given the circumstance in which he grew up how could that not be so?' he said. The boy's mother was dead and his father only recently made contact with him. The judge met the boy in recent months, in secure care. 'He is only 13 years old but in fact would pass for a boy of seven or eight. He is a tiny, diminutive young boy who clearly has suffered huge neglect despite the best efforts of [foster carers] to address that.' The foster placement broke down and the boy was in a special emergency arrangement in the community. 'In recent years he has had no safe relationships,' the judge said. 'He has sought out peers, generally older teenagers who were engaging in criminal activity ... [making himself] vulnerable and placing himself at risk.' His secure-care order was extended. A three-month extension to secure care was granted in the case of a 14-year-old boy admitted in February. The boy had 'made good progress' and was 'happier and more regulated'. However, he 'does not understand the consequences of his behaviour' and was resisting therapeutic interventions. 'This is a boy with significant problems as a result of the dysfunctional household into which he was born and severe trauma he suffered as a child,' said the judge. There had been 'issues of drugs and alcohol, child sexual exploitation on top of the neglect'. A fresh secure-care order was granted in respect of a 17-year-old boy who has been 'fire-setting' in his secure-care placement. He will turn 18 in November, the court heard, and is 'very concerned' about having to leave the unit. 'It was clear from speaking to him [special care] was having a hugely beneficial effect.'
