OFFENDER JAILED FOR AT LEAST 16 YEARS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESULTING IN MURDER
A 34-year-old man named Michael O'Connor was found guilty of causing the death of 27-year-old Joleen Corr by forcing her down stairs after a brutal assault.The incident took place in December 2016 at her residence in Thomas Russell Park, Downpatrick, County Down.
O'Connor had a history of domestic violence, and it was proven that during an argument over her mobile phone, he attacked her physically, breaking her jaw with a punch.
He then pushed her down the stairs, resulting in serious brain injuries that kept her in a vegetative state until her death on April 26, 2018.
Following a notable legal decision that year, doctors withdrew her life support.
During the trial, O'Connor admitted to manslaughter and later to her murder, despite initially denying the charges.
The court sentenced him to a minimum of 16 years imprisonment for her murder, with the possibility of a lifelong licence upon parole when considered appropriate.
The judge described him as a "physical and psychological bully," whose conduct must be viewed in light of his pattern of violence used to dominate.
The police and prosecutor Lynne Carlin welcomed the sentence, highlighting that this case was the first in Northern Ireland where a murder conviction was made after the termination of life-sustaining treatment in a victim of violence.
The victim’s family conveyed feelings of both relief and profound grief; her mother expressed her sorrow by saying, "I miss everything about her, her loud voice, her text messages, I miss her calling me mummy."
