A 24-year-old Belfast man who prevented the burial of his dead neighbour whose body lay undiscovered for two years, has been given a one-year prison sentence.
The court heard how Robert Sharkey had spent thousands of pounds from the dead woman's bank account on fast food deliveries.
The body of 68-year-old Marie Conlon was discovered in the bedroom of her flat at Larkspur Rise in west Belfast in October 2017.
Police believed she had died more than two years previously.
Ms Conlon's death was not treated as suspicious, but police arrested Sharkey who lived in an upstairs flat in the same building.
He was charged with preventing Ms Conlon's burial, and with stealing cash and her bank card.
The trial judge said Sharkey's criminal behaviour had been an outrage to any decent thinking person.
Sharkey was sentenced to one year in jail and 12 months on licence when he is released.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
