Oliver Hayes gets life for Corcoran murder

A 49-year old painter-decorator has been given a life sentence for the murder of a 60-year-old widow in west Cork last year.

Oliver Hayes of Clancool Terrace in Bandon, Co Cork, was heavily in debt when he beat Anne Corcoran to death after forcing her to reveal her bank account details.

He stole €3,000 from her before burying her body in woods. He then went on a skiing holiday to Austria.

After her husband's death, Mrs Corcoran had lived alone with her two pet dogs for two years on her family farm near Kilbrittain in west Cork.

Her disappearance from her home raised suspicions when her dogs were found uncared for there.

Local people turned out in their hundreds to conduct relays of searches over nine days in appalling weather conditions.

Concern turned to anger when Hayes was arrested and charged in connection with Mrs Corcoran's death.

Two years in arrears on his mortgage, owing €10,000 to his credit union and having a string of other debts, Hayes abducted Mrs Corcoran from her home, forced her bank account details from her and beat her unconscious before he left her to die.

Hayes left Mrs Corcoran at his home for two days before bringing her to a wooded area near the coast at Garretstown outside Bandon.

He told gardaí following his arrest that he attempted to burn her body in order to destroy any DNA evidence, before he concealed it under rubble close to a quarry.

Mrs Corcoran's body lay there for over a week as Hayes went on a skiing holiday in Austria with his girlfriend and her son.

At his sentencing hearing in Cork this morning, Mr Justice Paul Carney said apart from the gratuitous violence involved, one of the most chilling features of this case was Hayes's lack of genuine remorse over anything other than the suffering of Mrs Corcoran's dogs.

Mr Justice Carney jailed Hayes for life on the charge of murder.

He also sentenced him to ten years in prison to run concurrently for false imprisonment and for five counts of theft and one count of attempted theft.