A 44-year-old man who shot dead his brother-in-law with a submachine gun in the front garden of the victim's home in Ballyfermot, west Dublin, almost four years ago has been sentenced to life in prison.
Christopher Devine, with an address at Convent Lawns, Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot in Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to the manslaughter of Michael Tormey at Thomond Road in Ballyfermot in the early hours of January 9 2022.
Devine claimed he had been "shovelling" "industrial quantities" of cocaine into himself when he opened fire and had been suffering from a "substance-induced psychotic disorder".
However, the jury rejected his defence and convicted him of murder.
Mr Tormey's family said today he was not a criminal but got involved with "people for a short time" and paid for it with his life.
Devine and Mr Tormey were brothers in law and Devine was Mr Tormey's best man at his wedding.
Devine lied during garda interviews, court told
However, in the early hours of the 9 January 2022, Devine drove to Mr Tormey's home and shot him multiple times with an HK MP5 submachine gun just before 5am before walking back to his car and spinning the wheels as he made his escape.
He went home, switched cars and left again. The gun was never recovered.
Devine then left Dublin with his wife and spent four nights in two different hotels in Kildare and Dublin before he was arrested.
He has no psychiatric history and had never taken any psychiatric medication.
The 44-year-old told gardaí that he and Mr Tormey had moved drugs including cocaine for others, but had "kind of got out" of the "drugs business".
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However he lied during his garda interviews about going to his brother-in-law’s home to warn him his life was in danger and seeing "some sort of mystery man, someone who was a threat".
He also told a psychiatrist that he had a falling out with his friend which "might have been over a missing firearm".
He had the gun in his home before the murder and was taking cocaine and handing the submachine gun to children while saying "Mick has done something he shouldn’t have done" - and that it was either him or Mick "that goes".
'Brutal act of murder and treachery' - Judge
In a victim impact statement Mr Tormey's brother Patrick said today that he was a good, decent man with a happy attitude to life, and not a criminal.
He said Mr Tormey made "a serious error of judgement getting involved with these people" but was only around them for a short time.
"When he met them, it was the beginning of the end," Patrick said, adding: "He paid the ultimate price with his life."
Mr Tormey's daughter Shauna also told the court she did not know why her dad had been "so cruelly taken and never will".
Devine’s defence counsel said he wanted to convey his remorse and regret for his actions that night.
Ms Justice Melanie Greally said the victim impact statements convey the devastation caused by "this brutal act of murder and treachery".
She described the killing as "a horrible death in horrible circumstances."
"The only benefit that comes from this process is that the family of the deceased has a voice and are able to set the record straight, and that is the only satisfaction that can come from this process," she said.
She sentenced Devine to the mandatory term of life in prison.
