A 56-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a woman by setting fire to her home almost three years ago.
George Turner, from Fairview Avenue in Dublin, pleaded guilty to murder earlier this week.
Emma Costello McCrory was found dead at her home on the Howth Road in Clontarf on the evening of 15 December 2022 after emergency services were called to a house fire.
She was 45 and the mother of two children.
Detective Garda Cliff Singleton gave evidence that Turner said he had been in a relationship with Ms Costello McCrory for around three months prior to the murder.
On the evening of 15 December, he said she had asked him to go to the shops to buy alcohol and had asked him to take money out with her ATM card.
He also went to a bookmakers before returning to the house in Clontarf.
Turner told gardaí he saw smoke coming from the building and knocked on neighbours' doors for help.
However, prosecuting counsel Eoghan Cole said Turner set the fire sometime after his return to the house and only drew attention to it when the smoke began billowing.
Garda Singleton agreed that although Turner had a phone, he did not use it to call emergency services.
Ms Costello McCrory's body was found in an upstairs bedroom.
Efforts to resuscitate her at the scene failed.
A post-mortem examination found she had died due to inhaling carbon monoxide and other noxious gases released in the fire.
She had alcohol and prescription drugs in her blood, which the court heard would have made her sleepy and vulnerable when the fire started.
Fire services found no evidence of an accelerant and found the fire had begun towards the bottom of Ms McCrory’s bed.
Turner made a statement in January 2023 and speculated that the cause of the fire might have been a cigarette.
However, two months later, he told an acquaintance that he had "burnt Emma" and set a blanket on fire "to take her out of her pain".
Turner went to gardaí himself and told them he couldn't live with himself and that he had started the fire.
He said he had set fire to Ms Costello McCrory's bedclothes and left when they began to smoulder.
He claimed she had no quality of life and that she didn't want to live.
He said he wished it hadn't happened but would do it all over again and was relieved for her sake that she had died.
He later told gardaí he had not intended to kill her and had just intended to give her a fright.
The court heard he continued to use her ATM card for up to ten days after the fire for his own personal expenditure.
The court was also told Turner had difficulties with his own mental health.
He has 42 convictions, mostly for public order and road traffic offences.
However, in 2016, he was jailed for four years for possessing firearms and ammunition in suspicious circumstances and was also convicted of possessing drugs for sale or supply.
Heartbroken mother remembers 'wonderful, caring' daughter
Her mother, Pauline Costello, told the court she was heartbroken.
She said Emma was her only daughter and was a "wonderful woman, a very caring individual". She said she had a sparkling personality and a great sense of humour.
Ms Costello told the court Emma's father suffered with Parkinson's disease and died a few weeks later after her.
She said she had not told him his "adored child" was dead and this had had a dreadful effect on her.
Ms Costello said her daughter had been diagnosed with cancer when she was studying for a degree in England when she was 19. She said she recovered and finished her degree and got on with life.
However, turning to Turner, Ms Costello said her daughter was "very vulnerable" when she met him.
She said Turner had taken her life and stolen her future, and her two children would now grow up without a mother.
She said her only daughter was "much more than what happened to her" and would never be forgotten.
Defence Counsel Philipp Rahn said Turner wanted to express his remorse and regret for his actions.
He said his client's unprompted admissions and confessions in March 2023, followed by his guilty plea, showed a genuine desire for atonement.
Ms Justice Eileen Creedon extended her sympathies to Ms Costello McCrory's family and said she had lost her life in "needless and tragic circumstances".
She imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison on Turner.
