Slieve League: Pair who murdered man jailed for life
The family of a man who was thrown over iconic Irish cliffs have described his murder as "evil".Alan Vile and Nikita Burns, were convicted of murder by majorities of 10 to two at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Thursday.The pair were sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday.Vial, 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal and Burns, 23, from An Charraig, County Donegal, both denied the murder.
Mr Wilkin's body was found in the sea at the bottom of the Slieve League Cliffs along Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way eight days after he was murdered by two short-term friends.During the sentencing hearing, a statement on behalf of Robin Wilkin's family described the time since his murder as "an agonising journey filled with grief, denial and undoubtedly anger".The statement, read to the court by Mr Wilkin's sister, Irene McAleer, on behalf of herself and her brother David and sister Marie, stated that "the brutal nature of his death is something that none of us will ever come to terms with".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Liverpool cops release new statement after arrest of 'gangland' shooting suspect
The arrest is in connection with the fatal shooting of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr in Monaghans, Fuengirola on May 31. Police in Liverpool have released a new statement following the arrest of a suspect in a gangland shooting in Spain. Merseyside police have confirmed a 44-year-old man from the area has been arrested in the UK on suspicion of the Costa del Sol gangland execution of Scots mobsters Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr. The suspect was taken into custody on June 13 in Liverpool by the local force under an international arrest warrant issued by the Spanish authorities. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday 14 June, for the commencement of extradition proceedings to Spain. The arrest is in connection with the fatal shooting of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr in Monaghans, Fuengirola on May 31. A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm yesterday evening, Friday 13 June, a man was arrested in connection with two fatal shootings in Spain on 31 May. "The 44-year-old man from Merseyside appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court this morning, Saturday 14 June, for the commencement of extradition proceedings to Spain. He has been remanded into custody to appear in court at a later date." Although the men killed have links to the notorious Lyons Glasgow crime family involved in the ongoing gang war that has raged on across the central belt since March, Police Scotland say they do not believe the shooting is connected. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Monaghan, who fled Scotland in 2017, to head for the Costa Del Sol is listed as the proprietor of the bar in an online business directory for the bar which looks onto the promenade of the popular holiday resort. The gangland figure touched town in Malaga in January 2017 after he was shot twice in a gun attack outside a primary school in Glasgow. Monaghan was reportedly shot twice by a gunman lurking outside St George's Primary, Penilee. Grisly pictures from the scene of the gun attack, which occurred around 11.30pm last month, show a man lying lifeless on his back in shorts an a T-shirt by a drinks and meal men blackboard on an outside terrace at the Irish bar. In other disturbing images police and paramedics can be seen surrounding the body of one of the victims, thought to be the same man, after he was covered under a blanket as shocked locals and holidaymakers looked on. Police Scotland have said they have received no intelligence to say that the shooting was connected to the brutal gang war, sparked by a stash of stolen cocaine, which has been plaguing the central belt. Multiple properties have been firebombed, and homes shot at, in the wave of violence which first broke out in March this year.
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
'Scots' suspect arrested over Spain 'gangland' shooting of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr
He is now facing extradition to Spain so he can be questioned about the May 31 murders. Any extradition would have to be approved by a UK court. A man arrested in connection with a "gangland" shooting in Spain is believed to be Scottish. Spanish police have confirmed a man, believed to be in his 40s, has been arrested in the UK on suspicion of the Costa del Sol gangland execution of Scots mobsters Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr. The BBC reported earlier this morning the suspect was taken into custody in Liverpool by Merseyside Police under an international arrest warrant issued by the Spanish authorities. Spanish cops have yet to make a formal statement. But a well-placed Spanish police source said today when asked about the arrest: 'The specialist UDYCO Costa del Sol police group which is leading the investigation has identified this man. 'As they couldn't find him in the places where they thought he could have been in Malaga, they asked a court in Fuengirola which has opened a judicial probe into the shootings to issue an international arrest warrant for this man. 'Police in the UK have arrested the man in Liverpool under this international warrant.' He is now facing extradition to Spain so he can be questioned about the May 31 murders. Any extradition would have to be approved by a UK court. The suspect's return to Spain would be delayed if he decides to oppose extradition. Spanish officials said days after the murders they had 'no doubt' they would catch the gunman who shot dead Monaghan and Lyons Jnr. Javier Salas was the first Spanish government representative to confirm the victims were Scottish after the horror shooting at Monaghan's Irish pub Monaghans Fuengirola. And he spoke again three days later to say he was convinced police would find and arrest the culprit. Graphic CCTV footage first published by Spanish TV showed one of the two men murdered being cornered inside the premises and shot in the chest and stomach from close range. The killer, dressed in black, was filmed shooting Glaswegian Ross Monaghan, 43, dead after targeting his pal Lyons Jnr outside the pub seconds earlier as terrified tourists and locals ran for cover. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Spanish police sources confirmed they believed the killer was blond following claims detectives haven't commented on that he could also be Scottish. He fled on foot but was driven from the scene by an accomplice in a car waiting nearby which headed along the old N340 dual carriageway east towards the resort of Benalmadena. Officers from the elite Spanish National Police Costa del Sol-based Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO have headed the ongoing probe, although they are reporting to a Fuengirola-based investigating judge coordinating the operation. Career criminal Monaghan, who fled Scotland for Spain after a failed attempt on his life outside a Glasgow primary school in 2017, was tried but acquitted over the murder of notorious Glasgow hood Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll at an Asda car park in 2010. In August 2017 he and Eddie Lyons Jr, both members of the Lyons Glasgow crime family, were cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire. The shooting in Spain came amid a violent gang war that has ripped through Scotland since March said to have started over a fallout over drugs. However Police Scotland have said they have no intelligence to link the shootings to the feud.
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Major development in double murder of UK gangsters in holiday hotspot
Police in Spain have confirmed a man has been arrested in the UK on suspicion of the Costa del Sol shootings of gangsters Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr. The BBC has reported the suspect was taken into custody in Liverpool by Merseyside Police under an international arrest warrant issued by the Spanish authorities. Spanish cops have yet to make a formal statement. But a well-placed Spanish police source said today when asked about the arrest: 'The specialist UDYCO Costa del Sol police group which is leading the investigation has identified this man. 'As they couldn't find him in the places where they thought he could have been in Malaga, they asked a court in Fuengirola which has opened a judicial probe into the shootings to issue an international arrest warrant for this man. 'Police in the UK have arrested the man in Liverpool under this international warrant.' No details have yet emerged about the suspect's age or nationality. He is now facing extradition to Spain so he can be questioned about the May 31 murders. The suspect's return to Spain would be delayed if he decides to oppose officials said days after the murders they had 'no doubt' they would catch the gunman who shot dead Monaghan and Lyons Jnr. Javier Salas was the first Spanish government representative to confirm the victims were Scottish after the horror shooting at Monaghan's Irish pub Monaghans Fuengirola. And he spoke again three days later to say he was convinced police would find and arrest the culprit. Graphic CCTV footage first published by Spanish TV showed one of the two men murdered being cornered inside the premises and shot in the chest and stomach from close range. The killer, dressed in black, was filmed shooting Glaswegian Ross Monaghan, 43, dead after targeting his pal Lyons Jnr outside the pub seconds earlier as terrified tourists and locals ran for cover. Spanish police sources confirmed they believed the killer was blond following claims detectives haven't commented on that he could also be Scottish. He fled on foot but was driven from the scene by an accomplice in a car waiting nearby which headed along the old N340 dual carriageway east towards the resort of Benalmadena. Officers from the elite Spanish National Police Costa del Sol-based Anti-Drug and Organised Crime Unit UDYCO have headed the ongoing probe, although they are reporting to a Fuengirola-based investigating judge coordinating the operation. Career criminal Monaghan, who fled Scotland for Spain after a failed attempt on his life outside a Glasgow primary school in 2017, was tried but acquitted over the murder of notorious Glasgow hood Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll at an Asda car park in 2010. In August 2017 he and Eddie Lyons Jr, both members of the Lyons Glasgow crime family, were cleared of being involved in a brutal street attack on three men outside the Campsie bar in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire. The shooting in Spain came amid a violent gang war that has ripped through Scotland since March said to have started over a fallout over drugs. The gun murders followed the fatal shooting nearly seven weeks ago of a 32-year-old British man in nearby Calahonda a 15-minute drive from the Irish bar towards Marbella. He was shot dead around 8pm on April 21 in a professional hit as he headed back to his car after finishing a football match with friends. The killers fled in a getaway car that was later torched. Police are investigating the brutal assassination as a drug-related gang shooting but have yet to make any arrests. The victim has not been named but was known to come from Liverpool. Reports at the time described the incident as the fourth shooting so far that month on the Costa del Sol, where rival gangs have increasingly used extreme violence to settle scores and a number of international mafias are known to have a base. Four days before the Calahonda shooting a 34-year-old man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella after being shot outside a nightclub in the famous Costa del Sol resort.
