A 23-year-old man from County Clare has been given a life sentence for the murder of John Carroll in County Tipperary in December 1998. William Roche was also given a two-and-a-half-year sentence for the false imprisonment of Mr Carroll.
The judge said that he had taken Mr Roche's disadvantages in life into consideration when imposing the sentence. Mr Carroll - a profoundly deaf 21-year-old man - from Cappamore, County Limerick, was kicked and beaten to death in a remote laneway.
The Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday suspended the remaining four months of a sentence for assault imposed on Deirdre Rose, who last month had her conviction for the murder of John Carroll quashed by the court. The 21-year-old woman from Killaloe gave birth to her second child during her imprisonment in Mounjoy.
The court had indicated it would give its reasons for quashing Ms Rose's murder conviction once the trial of William Roche had concluded. A third man also charged with the murder of John Carroll is due for trial in the Central Criminal Court in May.
