TRAGIC AFTERMATH: The scene at the house in Foley
11-8-2006 Ireland:
THE man who died from burns on Friday, following the horrific incident in which a gang burst into his home in south Armagh last week, was a convicted sex offender who was suspected locally of abusing an eight-year-old boy.
Thomas O'Hare, 33, was in the bungalow in Keady on Monday night with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Lisa McClatchey, when four men burst in and doused the couple and their living room with petrol.
McClatchey, who knew nothing of O'Hare's past, was described by local people as a complete innocent caught up in the apparent revenge attack. She is critically ill in hospital suffering from 80 per cent burns.
She and O'Hare were at home in his house near the village of Keady on Monday night when the four men burst in.
A struggle ensued in which the petrol was ignited, and all six were engulfed in flames. Neighbours said they heard an explosion, then saw Miss McClatchey running from the house with her clothes and hair on fire. One witness said she was like a fireball.
Four men were then driven off towards the border by two others.
Some hours later, four men, all brothers, were admitted to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. Two of them, aged 24 and 34, were transferred to St James's Hospital in Dublin where their conditions yesterday remained serious. All four are from Newtownhamilton in south Armagh, but two have been living in Dublin.
Gardai are investigating the case in co-operation with the PSNI, but have yet to make any arrests. They are awaiting the recovery of the two less-critically injured brothers before they are questioned.
According to some sources, their injuries were sustained at a site about a mile and a half away from the house, and the two incidents were a terrible coincidence.
On Friday, the PSNI arrested a 43-year-old man. A spokesman said the man was arrested in Co Armagh and was being questioned about murder, attempted murder and arson.
Thomas O'Hare had been placed on the PSNI's sex offenders list following a conviction in 1999 relating to the sexual assault of a young boy from south Armagh. He served a three-year jail-term, and had been living in the Craigavon area until recently. It is understood that while in Craigavon he struck up a relationship with Lisa McClatchey. Miss McClatchey's uncle, Harold Gracie, was the local senior Orangeman who led the Drumcree protest for several years until his death last year.
Local people said yesterday that O'Hare and McClatchey had only moved into the house at Foley, outside Keady, in recent months. It is understood that O'Hare inherited the bungalow from a relative who died earlier this year. Locals said the couple only stayed at the house a few days a week, and that O'Hare was believed to be refurbishing the house with the intention of selling it.
A local SDLP councillor, Sharon Haughey, said she believed that Mr O'Hare was the target of a vigilante attack, and it is understood that he may recently have had a "confrontation" in the area. ..more by JIM CUSACK
Four men to be quizzed over Armagh attack
11-15-2006 Ireland:
The PSNI is seeking to interview four men, currently undergoing treatment in St James's Hospital, in connection with the death of a couple in an attack in Co Armagh last week.
Thomas O Hare, 33, and 21-year-old Lisa Mc Clatchy, died as a result of burns they received when a group of masked men doused her house in petrol and set it alight.
The gang beat the couple with a sledge hammer and doused them with petrol before setting them on fire.
Mr O'Hare died three days after the attack, and Ms McClatchy succumbed to her injuries in the Royal Victoria Hospital this morning.
Four men, who are believed to be brothers from the same area in Co Armagh, presented themselves at a hospital in Dundalk with serious injuries an hour after the attack.
They were transferred to St James's Hospital in Dublin where they are described a being 'seriously ill'.
The four suffered burns ranging from 35% to 55%, and it is expected that they will require treatment for some time.
The PSNI also confirmed it is still looking for at least two other individuals in connection with the double murder.
It is seeking information on a dark coloured Vauxhall Vectra car, a Rover 200 series car and a BMW 3-series car seen in the in the Foley Road area of Ballymacnab on the evening of 6 November. ..more.. by RTE News
Showing posts with label 2006 FRN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2006 FRN. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Four charged with murder of homeless man
7-26-2006 United Kingdom: UPDATED
A 16-year-old girl has been charged with murder following the brutal beating of a homeless man. The teenager, along with three others, is accused of killing Brian Kitching at Southsea seafront last year.
The schoolgirl, from Southsea, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is believed to be one of the youngest ever to be charged with murder in Hampshire. Three others have also been charged with his murder following the attack in which Mr Kitching was set upon by a gang of yobs.
Lewis Hoare, 19, of Samuel Road, Portsmouth, Amie Bartholomew, 19, of no fixed abode, and Paul Dewar, 26, also of no fixed abode, but originally from Taunton, Somerset, are also accused of murder.
Mr Kitching, 68, suffered serious head injuries when he was attacked in the Rock Gardens near the Pyramids on Clarence Esplanade, on September 6, 2005. He was beaten senseless in the attack and lay in a coma at Queen Alexandra Hospital for weeks.
Mr Kitching, who had lived in the Milton area of Portsmouth, suffered multiple broken ribs, a collapsed lung, massive cuts and bruising to his face and bleeding on the brain. He was eventually transferred to a nursing home where he died on March 8 this year.
The two females appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court yesterday afternoon. They were released on bail. The two men appeared before city magistrates today and were remanded in custody. All four will appear at Winchester Crown Court on Monday. ..more.. by The News
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Gang 'killed falsely-accused man'
A man was murdered in an unprovoked attack by a gang because one of them falsely accused him of being a paedophile, a court has been told.
4-18-2007 United Kingdom:
Brian Kitching, 68, from Portsmouth, suffered brain damage in the attack in Southsea in September 2005.
Paul Dewar, 27, of no fixed address, Amie Bartholomew, 19, and a girl, 17, both from Portsmouth, denied murder at the Winchester Crown Court trial.
Lewis Hoare, 19, from Portsmouth, has pleaded guilty to murder.
Paedophile taunt
Mr Dewar and Ms Bartholomew also deny causing Mr Kitching grievous bodily harm.
Mr Kitching was walking through a rock garden at Southsea seafront when he was attacked and repeatedly punched and kicked.
The jury was told that one of the gang, Amie Bartholomew, then 18 and pregnant at the time, started the attack when she shouted to Mr Kitching that he was a "dirty paedophile" and punched him.
Anthony Donne QC, prosecuting, said a girl, who was 16 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, Mr Dewar, then 25, and Mr Hoare, then 18, all joined in the attack on Mr Kitching.
One witness said they were kicking him like a football and afterwards they robbed him of his cash, the jury heard.
Victim's 'misfortune'
Mr Kitching died in March 2006 in a nursing home because his brain damage meant he could not cough and he suffocated on his own vomit.
Mr Kitching was not known to the group and there was no evidence at all he was a paedophile.
Mr Donne said he just had the "misfortune" of running into the gang.
Some of the group, who had been drinking heavily, had attacked two other people during the day and, straight after beating Mr Kitching, the two men punched and kicked another man in another unprovoked attack, the court was told.
All four then washed their clothing in the sea but witnesses had recognised some of the group and they were arrested shortly afterwards.
In interview, Mr Dewar said he had not attacked the man and that the others had.
The 16-year-old girl said she kicked Mr Kitching only once and Ms Bartholomew said she had not been involved in the attack and denied calling Mr Kitching a paedophile.
The case was adjourned but is expected to last three weeks. ..more.. by BBC News
A 16-year-old girl has been charged with murder following the brutal beating of a homeless man. The teenager, along with three others, is accused of killing Brian Kitching at Southsea seafront last year.
The schoolgirl, from Southsea, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is believed to be one of the youngest ever to be charged with murder in Hampshire. Three others have also been charged with his murder following the attack in which Mr Kitching was set upon by a gang of yobs.
Lewis Hoare, 19, of Samuel Road, Portsmouth, Amie Bartholomew, 19, of no fixed abode, and Paul Dewar, 26, also of no fixed abode, but originally from Taunton, Somerset, are also accused of murder.
Mr Kitching, 68, suffered serious head injuries when he was attacked in the Rock Gardens near the Pyramids on Clarence Esplanade, on September 6, 2005. He was beaten senseless in the attack and lay in a coma at Queen Alexandra Hospital for weeks.
Mr Kitching, who had lived in the Milton area of Portsmouth, suffered multiple broken ribs, a collapsed lung, massive cuts and bruising to his face and bleeding on the brain. He was eventually transferred to a nursing home where he died on March 8 this year.
The two females appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court yesterday afternoon. They were released on bail. The two men appeared before city magistrates today and were remanded in custody. All four will appear at Winchester Crown Court on Monday. ..more.. by The News
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Gang 'killed falsely-accused man'
A man was murdered in an unprovoked attack by a gang because one of them falsely accused him of being a paedophile, a court has been told.
4-18-2007 United Kingdom:
Brian Kitching, 68, from Portsmouth, suffered brain damage in the attack in Southsea in September 2005.
Paul Dewar, 27, of no fixed address, Amie Bartholomew, 19, and a girl, 17, both from Portsmouth, denied murder at the Winchester Crown Court trial.
Lewis Hoare, 19, from Portsmouth, has pleaded guilty to murder.
Paedophile taunt
Mr Dewar and Ms Bartholomew also deny causing Mr Kitching grievous bodily harm.
Mr Kitching was walking through a rock garden at Southsea seafront when he was attacked and repeatedly punched and kicked.
The jury was told that one of the gang, Amie Bartholomew, then 18 and pregnant at the time, started the attack when she shouted to Mr Kitching that he was a "dirty paedophile" and punched him.
Anthony Donne QC, prosecuting, said a girl, who was 16 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, Mr Dewar, then 25, and Mr Hoare, then 18, all joined in the attack on Mr Kitching.
One witness said they were kicking him like a football and afterwards they robbed him of his cash, the jury heard.
Victim's 'misfortune'
Mr Kitching died in March 2006 in a nursing home because his brain damage meant he could not cough and he suffocated on his own vomit.
Mr Kitching was not known to the group and there was no evidence at all he was a paedophile.
Mr Donne said he just had the "misfortune" of running into the gang.
Some of the group, who had been drinking heavily, had attacked two other people during the day and, straight after beating Mr Kitching, the two men punched and kicked another man in another unprovoked attack, the court was told.
All four then washed their clothing in the sea but witnesses had recognised some of the group and they were arrested shortly afterwards.
In interview, Mr Dewar said he had not attacked the man and that the others had.
The 16-year-old girl said she kicked Mr Kitching only once and Ms Bartholomew said she had not been involved in the attack and denied calling Mr Kitching a paedophile.
The case was adjourned but is expected to last three weeks. ..more.. by BBC News
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