Latest news with #KeithSmithers
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Irish Times
Stabbed man's partner witnessed his death in incident ‘so brutal and cruel'
The partner of a man who was stabbed to death two years ago has said that she witnessed his life being taken 'in a way that no human being deserved'. Keith Smithers (41) and Peter White (40) had pleaded not guilty to the unlawful killing and robbery of Brian Hogan on January 13th, 2023, at Collins Place in Finglas. Smithers, of Barry Close, Finglas, Dublin 11, was convicted on both charges following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, while White, of Casement Drive, Finglas, was acquitted of the unlawful killing of Mr Hogan, but was convicted of robbing him. Smithers has just over 90 previous convictions, including offences for criminal damage, drugs, possession of knives and handling stolen property, while White has 264 previous convictions, including offences for assault causing harm, robbery, theft, drugs and road traffic offences. READ MORE On Monday, Smithers was handed a global sentence of nine years, while White was jailed for four and a half years for robbery. Lyndsey Doyle's victim impact statement was read into the record during the sentencing hearing. Ms Doyle was with Mr Hogan that evening when they went to a house where Smithers and White were over a dispute about Mr Hogan's phone. The court heard he had given it to the men as security for a rock of cocaine the previous day. Ms Doyle was pregnant at the time with the couple's daughter. Ms Doyle said in her statement she witnessed Mr Hogan's 'life being taken so brutal and cruel in a way no human being deserved'. She said 'it will haunt me', and said he has left behind a broken family, referring to Mr Hogan's elderly father 'who is lost without him', as Mr Hogan had been his carer. Ms Doyle said her daughter will grow up without a father, who would have adored her as he adored his older son. Mr Hogan has an older son from a different relationship. She said Mr Hogan's death has 'left a huge void' in all their lives. She described him as 'a well-liked, decent fella' who did not deserve the end he got. Ms Doyle concluded her statement by thanking Sgt Shane Behan for helping them 'getting justice for Brian and knowing that his life mattered'. She said she hopes Mr Hogan rests in peace now. Judge Martin Nolan said the events which led to this prosecution were 'serious', adding that 'unfortunately a man died' on this date. He said there was 'little formal mitigation' for either of the defendants, and noted they both had a record of previous convictions. The judge said he had considered Smithers's background, his history of addiction and the contents of letters submitted by extended family. Judge Nolan said the court was of the view that Smithers was remorseful for his actions, which was 'a small level of mitigation'. He handed Smithers a sentence of nine years for manslaughter and a concurrent sentence of four and a half years on the robbery charge. In relation to White, the judge said the context of the robbery was 'quite serious' and imposed a sentence of four and a half years. The judge directed the men should receive credit for any time served in custody on these matters alone and granted a defence application to extend legal aid in the event of an appeal.
BreakingNews.ie
26-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Man was stabbed to death in 'brutal' and 'cruel' way, partner tells court
The partner of a man who was stabbed to death two years ago has said that she witnessed 'his life being taken so brutal and cruel - in a way that no human being deserved'. Keith Smithers (41) and Peter White (40) had pleaded not guilty to the unlawful killing and robbery of Brian Hogan on January 13th, 2023 at Collins Place in Finglas. Advertisement Smithers, of Barry Close, Finglas, Dublin 11, was convicted on both charges following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court while White, of Casement Drive, Finglas, was acquitted of the unlawful killing of Mr Hogan but convicted of robbing him. Smithers has just over 90 previous convictions including offences for criminal damage, drugs, possession of knives and handling stolen property, while White has 264 previous convictions including offences for assault causing harm, robbery, theft, drug and road traffic offences. On Monday, Smithers was handed a global sentence of nine years, while White was jailed for four and a half years for robbery. Lyndsey Doyle's victim impact statement was read into the record during the sentencing hearing on Monday. Advertisement Ms Doyle was with Mr Hogan that evening when they went to the house where Smithers and White were over a dispute about Mr Hogan's phone. The court heard he had given it to the men as security for a rock of cocaine the previous day. Ms Doyle was pregnant at the time with the couple's daughter. Ms Doyle said in her statement that she witnessed Mr Hogan's 'life being taken so brutal and cruel in a way no human being deserved'. She said 'it will haunt me' and said he has left behind a broken family, referring to Mr Hogan's elderly father 'who is lost without him' as Mr Hogan had been his carer. Advertisement Ms Doyle said she was pregnant at the time and her daughter will now grow up without a father who would have adored her as he adored his older son. Mr Hogan has an older son from a different relationship. She said Mr Hogan's death has 'left a huge void' in all their lives. She described him as 'a well-liked, decent fella' who did not deserve the end he got. Ms Doyle concluded her statement by thanking Sergeant Shane Behan for helping them 'getting justice for Brian and knowing that his life mattered'. She said she hopes Brian rests in peace now. Previous convictions Judge Martin Nolan said the events which led to this prosecution were 'serious', adding that 'unfortunately a man died' on this date. Advertisement He said there was 'little formal mitigation' for either of the defendants, and noted they both had a record of previous convictions. The judge said he had considered Smithers' background, his history of addiction and the contents of letters submitted by extended family. Judge Nolan said the court was of the view that Smithers was remorseful for his actions, which was 'a small level of mitigation' He handed Smithers a sentence of nine years for manslaughter and a concurrent sentence of four and a half years on the robbery charge. Advertisement In relation to White, the judge said the context of the robbery was 'quite serious' and imposed a sentence of four and a half years. The judge directed the men should receive credit for any time served in custody on these matters alone and granted a defence application to extend legal aid in the event of an appeal. Sgt Behan told Kieran Kelly BL, prosecuting, that Ms Doyle told gardaí that she and Mr Hogan went to the house in Finglas that day in an attempt to get back Mr Hogan's phone that had been given as security for a rock of cocaine. The phone was important to Mr Hogan as it had photographs on it that were of sentimental value and he had cash with him to pay the men for the drugs. They gained access easily to the house and immediately went upstairs where they found Smithers and White. An altercation arose and at one point a knife fell to the ground before Smithers got hold of it. Ms Doyle told gardaí that there was a struggle and she saw Smithers stab Mr Hogan once at the top of the stairs before Sgt Behan said the victim was effectively 'frogmarched' down the stairs by Smithers and White. The struggle continued outside and ultimately Mr Hogan received three further stab wounds and some puncture wounds. Mr Kelly confirmed that a pathologist's report concluded that three of those four stabs wounds could have been the fatal injury. Sgt Behan said Mr Hogan was then dragged from the front of the house to a nearby laneway where CCTV footage captured him being kicked to the head and upper body by one man. His pockets were also gone through at that point. The cash that he had brought with him to the house was no longer in his pockets when they were later searched by investigators. Letters in court Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending Smithers, told Judge Nolan that there were letters in court from Smithers family who said they are heartbroken that he was involved in this offence and expressed their sorrow for the Hogan family. Counsel submitted that his client 'did not want this to happen and he is very sad for Mr Hogan and his family'. He submitted that the jury concluded that Smithers had 'used excessive self defence' in the context that Mr Hogan and Ms Doyle had come to his home that day. He said there was evidence in the case that his client was asleep at the time and intoxicated. Mr O'Lideadha asked Judge Nolan to accept that this situation was different to a fatality that may result from a fight on a public street. He said there was no evidence as to who brought the knife to the altercation and asked the court to accept that Smithers was not just defending himself but also defending White. Mr O'Lideaha also asked the court to accept that his client had no previous convictions for violence, rather this convictions are consistent with a chaotic lifestyle of criminality due to his drug addiction. Philip Sheahan SC, defending White, submitted that 'all of the jurors seem to accept that my client was engaged in self defence and had no knowledge of the stab wounds inflicted on Mr Hogan'. He accepted that White robbed Mr Hogan but said his client expected that the victim was 'going to get up and walk away'. Mr Sheahan said his client expressed remorse but asked Judge Nolan to accept that he had 'lesser moral culpability' than Smithers. Ireland Jury in Satchwell trial told to approach case 'wit... Read More 'He has been quite impacted by the profundity of this case and hopes to deal with his drug addiction and hopes to get employment and put his addiction behind him on release from custody,' Mr Sheahan said. He asked Judge Nolan to accept that there was 'no sophisticated pre-planning' in the offence but Judge Nolan replied that he believes the jury 'were happy there was common design in the robbery'. Counsel submitted that the jury appear to have accepted that his client removed someone who had come into his house and administered violence to someone outside. He reminded the court that there was no evidence that White had used a weapon and said White had 'not been on the road outside looking to cause trouble'.
