A 22-year-old man who "tortured, tormented" and stole from a vulnerable elderly man who lived alone has been sentenced to life in prison.
Owen Maughan of Dun Saithne Avenue, Balbriggan, pleaded guilty to the murder of 65-year-old Christopher Hall at his home in Dun Saithne Green, Balbriggan, Co Dublin between 23 and 24 November 2021.
He harassed and stole from Mr Hall.
The Central Criminal Court was told Maughan has written a letter of apology to Mr Hall's family in which he says he has no excuse, he was not in his right mind but on drugs and he cannot explain or put in words how sorry he is.
Mr Hall's daughter Rebecca told the court she had planned to bring her father to gardaí the day before he was murdered.
Mr Hall had a brain injury and lived on disability benefit alone in a council house in Balbriggan.
He was, his daughter Rebecca said, a happy man who always saw the good in people but he was targeted and "tormented" by Maughan
Maughan, who had 39 criminal convictions, stole property from him to sell off, including his mobile phone.
He also took money from him and stood by Mr Hall as he withdrew money from an ATM.
He had been in Mr Hall’s home three times on the night of the murder.
Maughan attacked him with a knife, beating him several times with the handle and stabbing him seven times in the neck.
Mr Hall's daughters could not contact him and Rebecca Hall found him the following afternoon lying in a pool of his own blood between two chairs in the living room.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott sentenced Maughan to the mandatory term of life in prison.
'Completely senseless' murder
Christopher Hall's daughter has described his murder as "completely senseless."
Rebecca Hall said there "wasn't rhyme nor reason" for the killing of her father, who she said was a vulnerable old man, who she feels was "preyed on."
Speaking outside the court, she said there is "a huge hole in our life, we miss him so much and we are never going to be able to get over this."
Ms Hall said the family are "going to live with that emptiness, that gap, for the rest of our lives because of what has happened."
She described her father as "a gentle, caring and loving" man, who would have "done anything for anyone."
Her father "loved his family and adored his grandchildren and his mother and his brothers and sisters," Ms Hall said.
"He lived such a simple life. He didn't harm anyone. He didn't bother anyone," she added.
"We are just so shocked that something like this happened to him because of that."
Ms Hall told reporters that nobody had a bad word to say about her late father.
"My dad would talk to everyone and he would try to help everyone, he was loved by all of us so much."
She said the family have now gotten "some justice," which she described as "the justice that my dad deserved foremost, and the justice that we deserve as a family."
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Ms Hall thanked the investigating gardaí for doing "an absolutely unbelievable job."
She said the gardaí put so much work into the case and "without them, we wouldn't have got the justice that we deserve and my dad wouldn't have got the justice that he deserves."
She also thanked the legal counsel who she said "worked together as a team and put their heart and soul into this, to do what was right."
"Nothing will ever undo the wrong that was done, but for the wrong that was done, we got some justice today and that's all we can get."
"Our hearts are still going to break for the rest of our lives, we're still going to miss him. We're left with the pain, we're left with the trauma, we're left with the grief and nothing changes for us."
Ms Hall said the family will "still have to try to get on with our lives, with loss of him and the tragedy and the trauma that has come with that."
"Every single person in my family has been affected in one way or another and they carry that heaviness around everyday," she added.
"It's just so awful that someone could do something like that but at least the trial side of things is over and we can kind of close a chapter on that."
However, she said it was not closure because "no courtroom justice is going to bring my dad back into existence but it's closure of this hanging over us for two and a half years."
