A 47-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for what the judge described as the callous and vicious killing of a 43-year-old man in Westmeath 23 years ago.
Mr Justice John Edwards also told Colin Pinder that the way in which the body of Bernard Brian McGrath was desecrated after he was killed was 'savage, depraved and barbaric'.
Pinder was found not guilty of the murder of his then fiancée’s father between 10 March and 18 April 1987, but guilty of his manslaughter by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in July.
Vera McGrath, Pinder's mother-in-law, was found guilty of the murder of her husband by the same jury.
Mr Justice Edwards said he believed there were aggravating circumstances in the case.
He said after Mr McGrath was killed, his body was buried in a shallow grave.
It was then dug up and burnt on a homemade funeral pyre and great lengths were gone to dispose of the remains.
Bones were splintered and put into drains and the septic tank, the judge said.
He said this caused distress to Mr McGrath's three sons.
At an earlier hearing last month, he said the sons had described the profound effect the loss of their father had had on them. The barbaric way his life was taken had left them numb with shock.
Without a Christian burial site, they said they had been unable to grieve for him in a normal way.
Mr Justice Edwards said he was satisfied he was able to take into account what happened after the killing in terms of its effect on the family.
The judge said there were also significant mitigating factors.
Pinder had pleaded guilty at the outset of the trial to manslaughter, even though that plea was not accepted by the State.
He said he had also shown remorse and guilt, albeit some years after the killing and had co-operated fully with investigating gardaí.
He said Pinder had a significant amount of adversity in his life and had a number of medical problems, including epilepsy and depression.
He said even Pinder had realised the horror of what he had been involved in, although it should not have taken him as long as it did to come to that realisation.
The judge said, taking into account all the circumstances, the appropriate sentence was one of nine years backdated to 23 July when he first went into custody.
Mr McGrath's sons were not in court.
Pinder clasped his hands and looked distressed as the sentence was handed down.
