A 59-year-old farmer has been jailed for six years for the manslaughter of his elderly aunt who died after she was run over by the teleporter he was driving.
Michael Scott, of Portumna in Co Galway, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of 76-year-old Chrissie Treacy in April 2018.
He was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury after a trial earlier this year, on the basis of gross negligence.
The prosecution case was that Scott had deliberately reversed over his aunt following a long running dispute about land.
However, Scott's defence was that her death was a tragic accident while he was reversing a teleporter across the yard outside Ms Treacy's home.
Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said the offence involved the driving of effectively a lethal weapon, which was far more dangerous than any car.
She said Scott had a weak right eye and she had to accept that he had been looking over his right shoulder when he hit his aunt.
The teleporter had no left mirror and the back window was dirty but these issues could have easily been remedied by Scott, she said.
She said the incident happened in Ms Treacy's own yard at her home. While she did not come into the yard all the time, she did do so occasionally and had the expectation to be safe in her own yard, Judge Biggs said.
She said Scott did not think at all about his aunt - an elderly lady living on her own.
The judge said there was no plea of guilty by Scott and he had shown no remorse or compassion for his aunt in the immediate aftermath of hitting her with the teleporter.
She said he had lied to gardaí for his own self preservation. She said he had now shown remorse but it was at a late stage. She also noted he had mental health issues and limited intellectual capacity.
She sentenced him to six years in prison.
Court hears victim was 'ahead of her time'
The judge said Ms Treacy had been described in court as a terrific lady who was ahead of her time as a female farmer.
She loved land and loved her animals. When her brothers died, the judge said her community became her family and had looked after her and given her comfort and support.
She said they could not have done more for her.
Ms Treacy had farmed 140 acres of land at Derryhiney in Portumna, with her brothers.
The farm was described in court as consisting of the "finest agricultural land".
After her brothers died, the land was left divided between Ms Treacy and her nephew, who farmed all of it and was described as having an "almost childlike" obsession with land.
By April 2018, the relationship between Ms Treacy and Scott had completely broken down.
The court heard evidence that Ms Treacy intended to partition her land from Scott's land and that he was angry about this. She had begun legal proceedings and a letter outlining her intentions had been sent to Scott.
On 27 April, Scott rang a neighbour, Francis Hardiman, and told him he had hit Ms Treacy with the teleporter.
Ms Treacy was found lying face down on the concrete near her home - she had suffered multiple traumatic crush injuries.
Scott told Mr Hardiman he had not called an ambulance as he did not know you could dial 999 for an ambulance.
Relationship deteriorated with Scott
The court heard neighbours and friends had been concerned about Ms Treacy and about the deterioration in her relationship with Scott.
There had been incidents such as Scott refusing to take her rubbish away, her oil was turned off during very severe weather and her Jack Russell dog, Bradley, disappeared.
But defence counsel Paul Greene had told the jury that no matter how unkind or monstrous Scott's behaviour was towards his aunt, that did not mean he should be convicted of murder.
The jurors took just under 15 hours to reach a verdict of manslaughter.
Judge Biggs had told them that to reach such a verdict, they must be satisfied Scott was driving in a grossly negligent way.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Treacy's friend, Regina Donohue, who was a witness at the trial, said her friend had been needlessly robbed of her life by the reckless actions of Scott.
She said she herself was now living a life of "what if" and "why didn’t I?"
Ms Donohue said she was broken-hearted for Ms Treacy and was fearful for the safety of herself and of her neighbours and friends.
In her statement, she outlined that she had been subjected to "ongoing intimidation" from Scott and his family since Ms Treacy’s death.
Ms Donohue said even though the sentencing may bring closure in this legal chapter, she could not let her guard down.
Ms Donohue said Chrissie had treated her like the daughter she never had and Ms Treacy was like a second mother to her.
She looked up to her as a fellow female farmer and there was huge mutual respect between them, she said.
Ms Donohue said she had thrown herself into work to numb the pain.
She added that the village she called home had been destroyed by the callous greed of one person but she said "Chrissie, you are at peace now".
