A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a gunman who shot dead another man at a restaurant in Dublin 16 months ago.
Michael Andrecut, from Sheephill Avenue in Blanchardstown, was found guilty of the murder of Tristan Sherry who was attacked by at least seven men and beaten to death at Browne's Steakhouse in Blanchardstown on Christmas Eve 2023.
Tristan Sherry's mother said she did not recognise her son when she went with gardaí to identify his body.
Three men have been found guilty of the murder of 26-year-old Sherry, three others have been convicted of violent disorder.
A seventh man, 19-year-old Juares Kumbu from Brookhaven Grove in Blanchardstown, who admitted removing a gun from the scene, was jailed for two years.
Tristan Sherry shot and fatally injured Jason Hennessy Senior who was out for a meal with family and friends.
Michael Andrecut, along with 19-year-old David Amah from Hazel Grove, Portrane Road, in Donabate, and a teenager who cannot be named because of a recent Supreme Court ruling, had pleaded not guilty to the murder but were convicted at the Special Criminal Court in February.
Andrecut kicked Sherry several times, stabbed him with a butter knife, hit him with a chair and also took photographs while he attacked him, as did David Amah who "intentionally and repeatedly kicked, stamped, stabbed and struck" Sherry "with a chair".
The teenager who cannot be named also kicked, repeatedly stabbed and stamped on Tristan Sherry's head. He was 17 at the time.
Three others: 19-year-old Jonas Kabangu from Corduff Park in Blanchardstown; 22-year-old Brandon Hennessy, from Sheephill Avenue, Dublin 15; and an 18-year-old who also cannot be named for legal reasons, have been convicted of offences relating to the murder - violent disorder at Browne's Steakhouse on 24 December 2023.
Jonas Kabangu ran to the kitchen when the shooting started but came back out and kicked Sherry twice in the head when he was on the ground.
Another teenager came out from under the table where he had been hiding and stamped down on Sherry while supporting himself on two other people, while Jason Hennessy Senior's son, Brandon Hennessy, got a brush and a dustpan from the service area and hit Tristan Sherry twice as he lay defenceless on the ground with his pants and underpants pulled down.
It felt like a nightmare, says sister
Tristan Sherry's mother and sister said today they were terrified and had to move home twice for fear of being attacked following the murder of Jason Hennessy Senior.
In her victim impact statement read in court today, Tristan Sherry's mother Mary Hand said her son had been so badly beaten that she did not recognise him. She said she did not believe it when she was told he had been murdered on Christmas Eve and was brought by gardaí to identify her "first-born child".
She said she looked at him and said "No, that's not my son". She said "he had all his teeth knocked out" and there was blood coming from the back of his head and on to the floor.
She said she has since tried twice to take her own life, is on eight tablets a night to relax her, and is "terrified" for herself and her daughter living in Blanchardstown.
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She said they have since "moved out of two homes out of fear of not being safe". Gardaí patrol in a car or van around their home every night she said but they are still "terrified" of a broken window or other attack.
"Life is lonely," she said, "I no longer trust people."
"I wish I didn't see him," she said, "I have nightmares."
She also said she had to avoid her phone because of the pictures, comments and information, on social media.
"Others see it as entertainment or news," she said. "Life will never be the same and our family will never have peace any time soon."
Tristan Sherry's sister Savannah said she was pregnant at the time of her brother’s murder and resting at home with her mother when "a peaceful, calm Christmas Eve", "getting the last presents" turned into something "like a horror film".
She said they went in to identify Tristan with three armed gardaí "with guns that made me feel we were in danger".
"It felt like I was in a nightmare. What more could anyone do to him," she said.
She said that Tristan's face looked different, he had no top on and there was blood on the floor. She had never seen a person dead before but she formally identified her brother after her mother said "that's not my son".
Andrecut came to view Hennessy as father figure
Michael Andrecut, who was convicted of the murder of Tristan Sherry has six previous convictions for robbery and drugs offences. His parents are from Romania and came to Ireland in the mid 1990s.
His father had alcohol issues, left home when Michael was eight and Michael came to view Jason Hennessy Senior as "a surrogate father", referring to him as 'Daddy J'.
The other two convicted murderers, David Amah, who was 17 at the time of the offence and another teenager who cannot be named have no previous convictions. All three come from decent families.
Jonas Kabangu turned 18 ten days before the murder. He lives at home with his parents and came to Ireland from the Democratic Republic of Congo. His father works as a caretaker, his mother as a cleaner. Jonas has no previous convictions.
The other teenager, who cannot be named, also lives with his family and has no previous convictions. His mother is an alcoholic, his father has medical issues and when taken into custody he displayed physical signs of neglect.
Brandon Hennessy witnessed the sudden attack on his father which was described in court as a "horrific and terrifying experience for the 20-year-old".
His involvement in violent disorder lasted one and a half minutes before he carried his dying father from the premises. He has three previous convictions for drugs and road traffic offences.
Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said there is only one sentence that can be passed for murder and he sentenced Michael Andrecut to the mandatory term of life in prison.
He also sentenced Juares Kumbu to three years with the final year suspended for two years.
The sentencing of the other five has been adjourned until May but because the other two convicted murderers David Amah and the other teenager were children in law at the time of the offence, they do not necessarily face the mandatory life sentence.
