A 43-year-old man who killed his mother's partner in Cork six years ago has been jailed today for 13 years.
Jonathan (Jon) Ustic died from blunt force trauma after Andrew Nash attacked him and dropped a sofa on him in his rented home in Cork in September 2017.
Nash, from Parnell Street, Thurles, Co Tipperary, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and in court today expressed his remorse and regret for the killing.
Mr Justice Michael McGrath described the attack as "violent and sustained".
Nash said in court he was deeply ashamed and disgusted with himself and wanted to apologise for killing Mr Ustic.
Nash attacked the 51-year-old a number of times at his rented home in Skibbereen between 22-24 September 2017.
First, he punched him in the head while he was in bed, then later he dropped a sofa on Mr Ustic's head and body when he was very drunk and lying on the floor.
Nash also smashed a broken bottle beside Mr Ustic's head, splitting his ear.
Mr Ustic was Nash’s mother’s partner and Nash believed Mr Ustic had been hitting his mother.
He had previously confronted him, admitting he hit Mr Ustic "a couple of slaps" then.
When Nash heard on the news the next day that Mr Ustic had died, his friends heard him say "the world won't miss him" and "was better off without him".
Nash pleaded not guilty to murder, but on the fourth day of the trial in Cork last week, he was rearraigned and admitted manslaughter.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Ustic's daughter Paige Edens said that she could not find the words to describe how this had changed her life forever.
"You do not imagine that a human being could be so cruel in the acts they commit," she said.
A father of five with seven grandchildren, Nash has 42 previous convictions, all at district court level, with most linked to an alcohol problem.
Mr Justice McGrath sentenced him to 14 years in prison with the final year suspended.
He also sympathised with Mr Ustic's family, particularly his daughter, who was 19 at the time her father was killed and was particularly close to him.
