A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of another man in Co Wicklow three years ago.
Michael Dickenson of no fixed abode and formerly of Darragh Park, Wicklow town, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Stephen O'Meara at Ballydonnell Wood, Red Cross, on or about 6 August 2009.
Mr O'Meara, a 26-year-old father-of-three from Rosehill in Wicklow town, was last seen that day.
His body was found by gardaí in a shallow grave in the woods five months later, on Christmas Eve. He had been fatally shot.
Dickenson told the court his brother had a drug debt of €15,000 and that Mr O'Meara was trying to collect it.
He admitted driving the victim to the woods and witnessing the murder but insisted he did not know that Mr O’Meara was going to be shot.
The jury returned this afternoon and found Dickenson guilty of murder by a majority decision.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison.
