The family of a 62-year-old woman who was viciously kicked to death by her son has said the legal process made it seem at times that she was on trial instead of her killer.
Catherine Henry's sons and sister were giving victim impact evidence at a sentence hearing for 29-year-old Luke Donnelly, who earlier this year was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of his mother.
Donnelly, of no fixed abode, had admitted manslaughter but had denied murdering his mother at her apartment on Bridge Street in Dundalk in May 2023.
The jury had heard Donnelly had taken a cocktail of drugs in the hours before the killing and for six months before that he had been telling people he was the son of God.
During his trial Donnelly said he had been groomed into a life of violence and drugs by an abusive mother.
He said he and some of his siblings were mentally and physically abused by their mother.
The jury accepted his defence of provocation after he told them he had "lost it" when his mother lunged at him on the day of the killing.
However, in victim impact statements today two of Catherine Henry's sons and her sister described how their grief and loss was made worse by the way she was portrayed during the trial.
Her son Robert Donnelly told the court his mother was "the best" and what his brother took from them could never be replaced. He said the family was devastated by her death and he was sickened by attempts to blame his mother for what happened.
"There is no way anyone can blame her for this. She took him in when no one else would."
He said their mother gave them hot meals every day, provided everything for them adding, "everything she did, she did for her children".
He said it was hard to hear what was being said about his mother during the trial and what she was made out to be adding, "everything seemed to be in Luke’s favour, about all the things she had done wrong in the past and nothing about what he had done".
He said he did not know if he will ever forgive his brother for what he has done, adding: "I hope some day I can. I hope he takes real responsibility for what he did and the lives he has affected."
A 'deeply loving person'
The victim’s sister Elizabeth Kenny said she believed that when the trial began, she would be able to let her sister rest in peace but instead "the opposite happened".
"It felt as though Catherine was the one on trial for her role as a mother and that was difficult for me to hear."
She said there was a complete lack of remorse shown and lies told about her sister who was a "deeply loving person" who loved her children unconditionally and adored her grandchildren.
She described the "extraordinary care" Catherine had given to another sister while she was ill because she was "selfless and kind, always putting others before herself".
She said Catherine had loved Luke and tried to protect him, and yet her life was taken in a "brutal and senseless way". His lack of remorse had deepened their pain, she added.
The victim’s son Jonathan said the loss of their mother had devastated the family adding, "despite what was said she was a loving mother, a single mother of seven raising them in council estate…I could not have done a better job under the circumstances".
He said her death had left "a permanent void of pain and regret, losing our mother in such a horrendous manner".
His brother’s behaviour after the killing, denying what he did for three years and delaying her burial, had prolonged and added to their grief, he said.
"Sixteen children have no grandmother because of Luke," he said, adding that while their mother had made mistakes throughout her life the person described by the accused and others in court was not a reflection of her.
He said he found the media coverage very hurtful, seeing her portrayed in reports as something she was not. "She loved her family deeply; her life was taken in an act of selfishness. He has yet to communicate an apology to me and my son and has not shown remorse. He calls himself a victim when he kicked a 62-year-old woman to death. Nothing will ever bring her back, but we ask that the sentence reflect the seriousness of what was done."
'Never given a chance'
Luke Donnelly's older sister Kathleen read a partial statement to the court in which she said her brother was "never given a chance" and that he idolised their mother "no matter how badly she treated him". She said her mother had physically, verbally and emotionally abused her and her last memory was of her mother threatening to kill her.
However, Mr Justice Paul McDermott intervened and said he had heard this testimony during the trial, and it could not be presented as a victim impact statement.
The defence application to submit two further statements from other siblings was withdrawn. However, defence counsel Conall McCarthy said the statements had been made at the invitation of the prosecution, but a decision had been taken by the prosecution not to submit them, and the defence felt they should be put on the record.
Mr McCarthy read a letter of apology from his client who said he accepted full responsibility for what he had done and the suffering caused to his family.
He said he had committed the offence at the age of 26, and it felt like he was a completely different person. The court was told that while in prison for the past three years he had undertaken a programme of education including a Leaving Cert exam, a Gaisce award and was moving towards an open university degree.
A medical report submitted to the court showed he had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Judge McDermott will pass sentence on 19 June.
