6-18-2009 Ireland:Victim stabbed to death after being set up for a beating
A STUDENT has been jailed for three years for conspiring to harm a teenager, who was later stabbed to death by another teenager, in June 2009, in Killarney, Co Kerry.
Martin Ollo (19), who is originally from Estonia but who has been living in Killarney for 10 years, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiring with Shane Regan, Dromkerry, Fossa, Killarney, to assault Stephen Lyne causing him harm in June 2009.
Mr Lyne’s body was found on a grass margin yards from his home at Ross Road at about 1.30am on June 18th, 2009, by teenagers in a car on their way to Ross Castle.
Mr Lyne’s father Denis also came upon the scene of his son lying dead and ambulance lights flashing. He had been stabbed in the back.
From the outset the trial was told that it was Regan (then 17), who had stabbed Mr Lyne in the belief he had raped girls, including his girlfriend at the time, Jessica Klok, the previous bank holiday weekend in the Demesne.
That false rape allegation was only recanted by Ms Klok during the course of the trial.
Regan, a distant cousin of Mr Lyne, died himself in August 2010 in a fall down a set of stairs in Tralee.
He had never been charged in connection with the killing.
Ollo never knew Regan had a knife, the prosecution accepted, and his role was “to lure” Lyne to be beaten, in revenge for the false rumour, the trial was told.
Three weeks ago, after a trial which lasted two weeks and heard from 66 witnesses, a jury of six men and six women found Ollo guilty of the first conspiracy count but not guilty of the second.
Ollo had no previous convictions. He had left school before completing his Junior Cert but had returned to education. He had managed to gain entry to a third-level course and was studying for a degree in computer science, the court was told.
Ollo, Mr Lyne, Regan and others were part of a large group of teenagers of the same age hanging around together, socialising a lot, smoking cannabis and drinking while under age during the early summer of 2009, the trial was told. In some cases “trading” cannabis was involved, said John O’Sullivan, defending.
There had been disputes and threats and rumours over money owed for drugs among the teenagers, of underage drinking, cannabis being smoked and rumours circulating about alleged rapes, particularly since the previous fine bank holiday weekend in the Demesne area of Killarney.
Judge Carroll Moran had deferred sentencing overnight after an appeal by Mr O’Sullivan.
Handing down sentence yesterday, Judge Moran said: “Legitimately the point is made, the accused is the only person left to face the music in this awful experience in that the killer, Shane Regan, died in 2010.
“He had been willing to testify against Shane Regan had the latter not died and had he been prosecuted for a crime of homicide.”
The judge also noted how Ollo had been subjected to physical attacks by others “as a result of this tragic incident”.
However, he said the gravity of the offence could not be underestimated and dictated a prison sentence, even though he was not responsible directly for Mr Lyne’s death .
“Independent of the level of culpability of the accused,” the judge said it was only right he offered condolences to the Lyne family. “Stephen has lost his life in a needless attack consequent to an allegation of which he was completely innocent – insofar as that was an excuse for what happened.”
At a press conference on the steps of the courthouse yesterday, Lotte Lyne said her son’s name had been vindicated and “to a certain extent”, justice had been done.
“He was a loyal and trusting son, who never believed evil of anyone and the family were setting up a foundation in his memory.
“He was an honest and loyal young man in the prime of his life who saw no evil in anyone and trusted people without judgment.”
Ms Lyne said she had no ill-feeling towards Ollo, who had expressed remorse during the trial although not directly to the family. ..Source.. by ANNE LUCEY in Tralee
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Teen girl: 'I lied that Stephen Lyne raped me'
2-29-2012 Ireland:
KILLARNEY teen Stephen Lyne was stabbed and killed because of a false claim of rape that had been levelled against him by a teenage girl, Tralee Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
On Tuesday the trial of Estonian national Martin Ollo, who is facing charges linked to the death of Mr Lyne in June 2009, heard from witness Jessica Klok who admitted lying about being raped by Stephen Lyne.
The trial has heard that Shane Regan, who has since died, had stabbed and killed Stephen Lyne in retaliation over the rape allegation made by Jessica Klok.
Miss Klok (18) admitted in court that she had made up the rape allegation against Stephen Lyne and that she had "communicated" that lie to Shane Regan.
"I lied that Stephen Lyne had raped me," Jessica Klok told the court. "It was just a blatant, disgusting lie."
Stephen Lyne's sister Sophia Lyne gave evidence that in the days leading up to the killing Shane Regan had told her about allegations that Stephen Lyne had "dragged a girl into a forest, held a knife to her throat and raped her."
Martin Ollo, of 47 Doirin Alainn, Ballydribeen, Killarney, is being tried at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on two counts of conspiring with Shane Regan to assault Stephen Lyne causing him harm on dates between June 15 and 18, 2009. Mr Ollo pleaded not guilty to both charges. KILLARNEY teenager Stephen Lyne was killed because of a false claim of rape that had been made against him Tralee Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
Witness Jessica Klok admitted lying about being raped by Stephen Lyne at the trial of Estonian national Martin Ollo, who is facing charges linked to the death of Mr Lyne in June 2009. Mr Ollo, a computing student at IT Tralee, with an address at 47 Doirin Alainn, Ballydribeen, Killarney, is being tried at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on two counts of conspiring with Shane Regan to assault Stephen Lyne causing him harm on dates between June 15 and 18, 2009. Mr Ollo has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
On Tuesday the trial heard that Shane Regan, who has since died, had stabbed and killed Stephen Lyne in retaliation over a rape allegation that Jessica Klok had levelled against Mr Lyne.
Stephen Lyne's sister Sophia Lyne gave evidence that in the days leading up to the Killing Shane Regan had told her about allegations that Stephen Lyne had "dragged a girl into a forest, held a knife to her throat and raped her".
Sophia Lyne said that when he made the allegations against her brother Shane Regan was "really mad and angry."
Miss Lyne said Shane Regan had told her that he was "going to get Stephen himself for this" and that he was going to stab him.
Witness Jessica Klok (aged 18) admitted in court that she had made up a rape allegation against Stephen Lyne and that she had "communicated" that lie to Shane Regan.
"I lied that Stephen Lyne had raped me," she told the court. "It was just a blatant disgusting lie," Jessica Klok said.
Jessica Klok also told the court that Shane Regan had told her he would not get caught for the killing of Stephen Lyne as he had burned his clothes and had set someone else up to get caught for the crime.
She also said she had the impression that Martin Ollo "did nothing" to Stephen Lyne.
Another witness Matt Griffin, an acquaintance of Martin Ollo, told the trial that in the days after Mr Lyne's death Mr Ollo had told him the killing was directly linked to the rape allegation.
Matt Griffin said that he had discussed Stephen Lyne's death with Martin Ollo a few days after the killing. "Later on when he was all flustered and panicked he said it had something to do with Jessica Klok claiming a rape or something like that," he said.
Under cross-examination from defence barrister John O'sullivan, Matt Griffin told the court that Martin Ollo told him that Shane Regan had said that the allegation made by Jessica Klok was the motive behind the fatal attack. ..Source.. by SIMON BROUDER
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