A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for what was described as a mindless, senseless and savage attack on a 37-year-old mother of two in Longford last year.
David Brozovsky pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of Sharon Coughlan whose body was found in a derelict house near her home in September.
The court heard Brozovsky dragged Ms Coughlan in off the street as she returned home from shopping.
The jury was told that he strangled her until she became unconscious, raped her, and then killed her.
Brozovsky told gardaí he had intended to steal her handbag.
He was arrested after gardaí traced Ms Coughlan's mobile phone that Brozovsky had given away in part-payment of a debt he owed.
Mr Justice Liam McKechnie said Ms Coughlan was terrified, pleading for her safety and fighting for her life.
He said it beggared his understanding of human nature that an individual could do these things to another.
He said Ms Coughlan's two children, aged ten and five, would be denied forever the comfort of her touch and the security of her presence.
He said she had been lost to them in barbaric, utterly senseless, utterly mindless circumstances.
Brozovsky, who is a father of one, has 25 previous convictions in the Czech Republic, for theft, extortion and battery and two convictions in Belgium for theft and aggravated theft.
Mr Justice McKechnie sentenced him to life for murder and 15 years for rape. The final two years of the rape sentence were suspended.
The judge expressed his sympathy and the sympathy of the justice system to Sharon's mother, her sisters, children, their fathers and her partner of two years.
As he was led away, Brozovsky said 'I'm sorry' to Ms Coughlan's family.
