O'Donogue only gets 4 years

Rockee · 24-01-2006 06:37PM

What a bloody disgrace, the cheeky bastard even helped in the search and asked his parents 'Is there any word on Robert' 4 years? 4 years!

6ix · 24-01-2006 06:38PM

TV3 News has reported that semen found on Robert's body did belong to O'Donogue.

I'll admit to not having an acute grasp of the legal process, but is there any valid reason why this would not have been submitted as evidence?

Rantorama · 24-01-2006 06:43PM

6ix wrote:

I'll admit to not having an acute grasp of the legal process, but is there any valid reason why this would not have been submitted as evidence?

When O'Donogue was questioned how it got on Robert's body,he said it was from a towel.

6ix · 24-01-2006 06:46PM

Rantorama wrote:

When O'Donogue was questioned how it got on Robert's body,he said it was from a towel.

Is this what TV3 say, or did this come up during the case?

TV3 did report the death of the pope a little prematurely after all, I tend not to trust them.

whiskeyman · 24-01-2006 06:47PM

6ix wrote:

I'll admit to not having an acute grasp of the legal process, but is there any valid reason why this would not have been submitted as evidence?

Evidence to what exactly?
It was a manslaughter trial.
The above evidence would have to have been taken further to suggest possible sexual attack (which the postmortem found was not the case) or something similar.
If the evidence is inadmissible, unreliable or unrelated, there's no point bringing it to the trial., otherwise the case could have collapsed.
This must have been the opinion of the DPP on this occasion.

6ix · 24-01-2006 06:50PM

whiskeyman wrote:

Evidence to what exactly?
It was a manslaughter trial.
The above evidence would have to have been taken further to suggest possible sexual attack (which the postmortem found was not the case) or something similar.
If the evidence is inadmissible, unreliable or unrelated, there's no point bringing it to the trial., otherwise the case could have collapsed.

Ah, that put me in my box. Thanks.

MarinoMark · 24-01-2006 06:52PM

Anyone have the link to the court transcript ? It is online but cant find on http://www.courts.ie./

Thanks

demanufactured · 24-01-2006 07:20PM

He should be pinned against a walll and burnt alive with a flame thrower for what he did....

fletch · 24-01-2006 07:28PM

If there was semen found on his body....SURELY it could have been sampled and compared to Wayne's! ????

fletch · 24-01-2006 07:29PM

Oh and I was watchin the 6-1 news on RTE and it was showing actual footage of the courtcase with photographers inside n all!? I was under the impression that no image capturing devices were allowed in Irish courts?

johnnyrotten · 24-01-2006 07:36PM

Manslaughter carries a maximum sentance of Life.
There is something sinister about O'Donaghue.
Kills boy
Hides body
Burns body
Deletes pic from phone
Semem found on body

4 years a disgrace!

flogen · 24-01-2006 07:39PM

whiskeyman wrote:

Evidence to what exactly?
It was a manslaughter trial.
The above evidence would have to have been taken further to suggest possible sexual attack (which the postmortem found was not the case) or something similar.
If the evidence is inadmissible, unreliable or unrelated, there's no point bringing it to the trial., otherwise the case could have collapsed.
This must have been the opinion of the DPP on this occasion.

Well, it was actually a murder trial once the charge had been upgraded.

lostexpectation · 24-01-2006 07:42PM

maybe there was a sexual misunderstanding which led to the too much force and not sexual violence in itself

killeoin · 24-01-2006 07:46PM

Sualtam wrote:

The guy's story doesn't add up at all. Hopefully the four years are in with the general population & he gets to be on the receiving end of some horseplay.

He killed the child and left him in the ditch to be eaten by rats & he gets people to feel sorry for him. How did he manage that?

Do people here actually know the facts of the case or are you just gaining all your knowledge from the tabloids? (this is only directed at the ignorant ones amounst you)

-Boy has ADHD.

-Step father used to beat him to control him (it came out in court that most of the marks on his legs are from his stepfather)

-Parents take boy off medication for Christmas.

-Boy goes in next door and smashes O'Donogue's Car Windscreen

-O'Donogue gets him in a headlock to try to control him.

-Accidentally kills him (sounds bad but just sit back and think for a minute how easily it could happen, have you ever held anyone in a headlock?)

-Panics

It’s that simple. Now yes he was wrong in that he didn’t phone the guards straight away but he panicked, Its not fair that people seem to think that he’s a stone cold killer. He made one mistake. That’s all. If anyone is to blame then why not point the finger at the parents for taking the child off medication in the first place. Anyone who works with children with ADHD know how hard it is to manage them.

johnnyrotten · 24-01-2006 07:46PM

lostexpectation wrote:

maybe there was a sexual misunderstanding which led to the too much force and not sexual violence in itself

A sexual misundersanding! WTF are you on about?

flogen · 24-01-2006 07:46PM

lostexpectation wrote:

maybe there was a sexual misunderstanding which led to the too much force and not sexual violence in itself

what are you getting at? I hate to be crude but do you suggest that O'Donohgue accidently ejaculated? And it was just coincidence that he accidently killed the child shortly afterwards?
The fact is that any sexual contant between the two is firstly illegal and secondly suggestive of a greater motive on O'Donohgues part.

killeoin · 24-01-2006 07:48PM

Sparks400 wrote:

He ended the life of an 11yr old boy, I'd leave him rot in jail.

If it was my little brother he killed, or any other poster's for that matter, I reckon the opinion's would change. Failure's in the Irish justice system should not be used as an excuse but as a stick to beat the Government with.

Do people here actually know the facts of the case or are you just gaining all your knowledge from the tabloids? (this is only directed at the ignorant ones amounst you)

-Boy has ADHD.

-Step father used to beat him to control him (it came out in court that most of the marks on his legs are from his stepfather)

-Parents take boy off medication for Christmas.

-Boy goes in next door and smashes O'Donogue's Car Windscreen

-O'Donogue gets him in a headlock to try to control him.

-Accidentally kills him (sounds bad but just sit back and think for a minute how easily it could happen, have you ever held anyone in a headlock?)

-Panics

It’s that simple. Now yes he was wrong in that he didn’t phone the guards straight away but he panicked, Its not fair that people seem to think that he’s a stone cold killer. He made one mistake. That’s all. If anyone is to blame then why not point the finger at the parents for taking the child off medication in the first place. Anyone who works with children with ADHD know how hard it is to manage them.

Wacker · 24-01-2006 07:49PM

Four years seems right on the money to me. What worries me is that the mother's statement might result in O'Donoghue getting worse treatment from inmates hen he would otherwise have received (although I am assuming that her statement was insubstantiated, based on what the State pathologist ruled).

johnnyrotten · 24-01-2006 07:49PM

killeoin wrote:

Do people here actually know the facts of the case or are you just gaining all your knowledge from the tabloids? (this is only directed at the ignorant ones amounst you)

-Boy has ADHD.

-Step father used to beat him to control him (it came out in court that most of the marks on his legs are from his stepfather)

-Parents take boy off medication for Christmas.

-Boy goes in next door and smashes O'Donogue's Car Windscreen

-O'Donogue gets him in a headlock to try to control him.

-Accidentally kills him (sounds bad but just sit back and think for a minute how easily it could happen, have you ever held anyone in a headlock?)

-Panics

It’s that simple. Now yes he was wrong in that he didn’t phone the guards straight away but he panicked, Its not fair that people seem to think that he’s a stone cold killer. He made one mistake. That’s all. If anyone is to blame then why not point the finger at the parents for taking the child off medication in the first place. Anyone who works with children with ADHD know how hard it is to manage them.

Two questions

1. Where did you get the above "Facts" from?

2. Where did the semem come from?

CiaranC · 24-01-2006 07:50PM

Didnt the state pathologist specifically state that this wasnt a sexual attack? Whats with the semen claim?

*edit* someone needs to delete killeons post, its clearly libellous.

Wacker · 24-01-2006 07:53PM

johnnyrotten wrote:

Two questions

1. Where did you get the above "Facts" from?

2. Where did the semem come from?

I think I can answer the first part of that anyway: The statements in the court case that were accepted by experts.

For part two, I have no idea, but I doubt there ever was any semen. The state pathologist never mentioned it, and the body was thoroughly checked for signs of sexual abuse. Remember, that was the presumptive motive at the time of the autopsy.

killeoin · 24-01-2006 07:54PM

johnnyrotten wrote:

Two questions

1. Where did you get the above "Facts" from?

Which ones?

johnnyrotten wrote:

2. Where did the semem come from?

I have no idea. Do we even know for certain that it was there?

flogen · 24-01-2006 07:57PM

killeoin wrote:

Do people here actually know the facts of the case or are you just gaining all your knowledge from the tabloids? (this is only directed at the ignorant ones amounst you)

-Boy has ADHD.

-Step father used to beat him to control him (it came out in court that most of the marks on his legs are from his stepfather)

-Parents take boy off medication for Christmas.

-Boy goes in next door and smashes O'Donogue's Car Windscreen

-O'Donogue gets him in a headlock to try to control him.

-Accidentally kills him (sounds bad but just sit back and think for a minute how easily it could happen, have you ever held anyone in a headlock?)

-Panics

It’s that simple. Now yes he was wrong in that he didn’t phone the guards straight away but he panicked, Its not fair that people seem to think that he’s a stone cold killer. He made one mistake. That’s all. If anyone is to blame then why not point the finger at the parents for taking the child off medication in the first place. Anyone who works with children with ADHD know how hard it is to manage them.

I've worked with children with ADHD before, and while it may not have been an extreme case of it my experience wouldn't justify his actions.

So he panics, fair enough. But why cover up so much? Why go on the searches, abuse Gardai because they aren't working hard enough and then console the mother, telling her he'll be found? If you were in that situation and you paniced, would you be able to face the family?
Why did Robert make a 999 call after being in Waynes room (when he should have been somewhere else)? Why were pictures deleted from Roberts phone and why did Wayne try to burn the body? Where did the semen come from?
No one is saying Robert was an angel, but nor was Wayne and the information the DPP had should have gone to trial, but it didn't.

killeoin · 24-01-2006 07:59PM

To be honest I think this whole semen thing is coming up as a result of the search for the body at the time.

killeoin · 24-01-2006 08:01PM

flogen wrote:

I've worked with children with ADHD before, and while it may not have been an extreme case of it my experience wouldn't justify his actions.

So he panics, fair enough. But why cover up so much? Why go on the searches, abuse Gardai because they aren't working hard enough and then console the mother, telling her he'll be found? If you were in that situation and you paniced, would you be able to face the family?
Why did Robert make a 999 call after being in Waynes room (when he should have been somewhere else)? Why were pictures deleted from Roberts phone and why did Wayne try to burn the body? Where did the semen come from?
No one is saying Robert was an angel, but nor was Wayne and the information the DPP had should have gone to trial, but it didn't.

Ok....can you honestly say that if you were in that situation you wouldn't panic?
No you can't because you never were and never will be (I hope!).

I'm not defending what he did, i'm just saying that in that kind of situation no one can tell how someone will react. The mind is a very strange thing.

mayhem# · 24-01-2006 08:04PM

I wonder what someone would get for evading taxes?

E.

Wacker · 24-01-2006 08:07PM

killeoin wrote:

Ok....can you honestly say that if you were in that situation you wouldn't panic?
No you can't because you never were and never will be (I hope!).

I'm not defending what he did, i'm just saying that in that kind of situation no one can tell how someone will react. The mind is a very strange thing.

That isn't quite right, as the panic would have worn off and he still went through with the charade of looking for the body. That was a sign of terrible, criminal judgement. Which is why I think the sentence fits.

nedoo · 24-01-2006 08:07PM

I would love to know how many facts in this case that are stated here are true. Things I find strange are:
Would you find it normal for an adult to be in your childs room first thing in the morning?
Would you not know if an adult was in your childs room first thing in the morning?
Would you find it normal for an adult to be a best mate of your child?
Why is the mother appearing on The Late Late this Friday? What good will it do? Put your energy into justice, not talkshows!
I really feel for Robers parents, however both parties have a lot of black areas coming out.
At the end of the day, a child is dead by the hand of another and 4 years is not the value of a childs life.

Wacker · 24-01-2006 08:11PM

Neither are a thousand years. You can't possibly replace the child's life with a sentence; it is hopeless to even try.

killeoin · 24-01-2006 08:14PM

Wacker wrote:

That isn't quite right, as the panic would have worn off and he still went through with the charade of looking for the body. That was a sign of terrible, criminal judgement. Which is why I think the sentence fits.

I never said that the sentence didn't fit. I think he was quite lucky in that he maybe should have got more (6 yrs?).

And yes, reading the trial thats what the initial murder was based on, Robert wasn't dead at the time he died after so if O'Donoghue had called for help at that time he wouldn't have died.

I'm not defending him, I just that calling O'Donoghue a cold blooded killer and what not is unfair. He made a mistake and paniced and he was trapped into a corner at that stage and couldn't admit what happened. (Remember how much media coverage it got, wouldn't that put you off?

O'Donogue only gets 4 years

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