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The family of a man who died after he was punched in the face once outside a hotel have been left “devastated” and “shattered” and their lives have been “changed forever”, a court has heard.
Vincent Kelly (45) died from serious head injuries after he was punched once by Paul O’Carroll (47) outside the Royal Hotel, Bray, Co Wicklow, in the early hours of June 9th, 2018.
O’Carroll, of St Peter’s Place, Bray, was found guilty of the unlawful killing of Mr Kelly following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court earlier this year.
At the sentencing hearing today Kelly’s sister, Andrea, said he was a “brother, cousin, nephew and friend”.
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His death had left his siblings and family “devastated” and their lives “shattered”.
Ms Kelly said the facts heard during the trial had “broken us more” as the man described was “not our brother”.
Ms Kelly said the family’s world has been “changed forever”.
She said the trial had provided the family with “a sense of closure” and her brother could now rest, but would “live on in their hearts”.
A victim impact statement on behalf of Kelly’s wife was also read to the court.
Judge Orla Crowe said the case was a very serious matter and she adjourned it to October 13th for finalisation.
Det Sgt Eamonn O’Neill of Bray Garda station gave an outline of the evidence to the court.
Kelly, who had been living in Newtownmountkennedy, was staying at the Royal Hotel in Bray at the time. He went to the hotel bar at 9pm on June 8th, 2019, where he was seen drinking, later joining other patrons. When the bar closed, the remaining patrons including Kelly moved to the lobby.
O’Carroll was among this group and was finishing a drink with another individual.
Det Sgt O’Neill agreed with Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, that Kelly’s behaviour appeared to be annoying some people in the lobby.
O’Carroll’s companion took Kelly’s drink and moved it to another table. Kelly got his drink and returned to the group. O’Carroll then took Kelly’s pint and walked out of the hotel, leaving the drink on a surface outside.
Fell back
Kelly followed shortly afterwards to retrieve his drink and O’Carroll then struck him once in the face. Kelly fell back and sustained catastrophic injuries to the head.
O’Carroll immediately went to help the victim and others also assisted. CCTV footage did not show Kelly raising his hands to defend himself or strike the defendant.
Kelly was taken to St Vincent’s hospital and then transferred to Beaumont Hospital. He later suffered a heart attack and died in the early hours of June 10th, 2018.
Former deputy state pathologist Michael Curtis had given evidence during the trial that Kelly died as a result of the head injury.
O’Carroll left the scene before gardaí arrived, but attended Bray Garda station the following day with his solicitor and made a voluntary statement. The defendant told gardaí that he had felt under threat and struck pre-emptively in self-defence because Kelly was acting irrationally.
O’Carroll lives with his partner and is the father of two adult children. He has 21 previous convictions, including nine for possession of drugs and one for assault.
Mr Orange read a victim impact statement to the court made by Kelly’s wife.
She said that her husband’s death had caused “great turmoil” for her and their children. She had felt shocked when she was told of his injuries and the likely outcome.
The realisation that she would have to break the news to their children was “devastating”.
Defence counsel, Michael O’Higgins SC, apologised on behalf of O’Carroll. Mr O’Higgins said this was an “unforeseen and spontaneous act of violence”. The punch used “moderate force” and would not generally lead to death, Mr O’Higgins said. However, the blow led to consequences which would not be expected from similar incidents where a person is struck once on the face, he said.
Mr O’Higgins said this was not a crime of intention, but the punch had caused the victim, who had been drinking, to fall to the ground.
Mr O’Higgins said O’Carroll’s immediate attempts to help the victim indicated that he had not acted out of rage.
While O’Carroll was culpable for striking the victim, the circumstances which led to the confrontation were not of his making, Mr O’Higgins said, adding that it was a moment of “bad judgment”.
Mr O’Higgins asked the judge to consider imposing a non-custodial sentence, as O’Carroll had made a significant contribution to his community and a favourable probation report was before the court.
The judge adjourned the case to October 13th for finalisation.