12/02/2003
McGinley murderers sentenced to at least 15 years
The pair convicted of the murder of 34-year-old Fermanagh businessman Gerard McGinley have been sentenced to serve at least 15 years in prison at Belfast High Court today.
Julie McGinley (31) and her lover Michael Monaghan (44) were found guilty of the August 2000 murder of Gerard McGinley whose body was discovered in a Co Leitrim wood, 10 months after his disappearance.
Sentencing the pair who were found guilty of the murder in December, Mr Justice Kerr today described the "opportunist killing" of Gerard McGinley was "callous and chilling".
Mr Justice Kerr said it was almost certain that the victim had been asleep in bed when he was murdered, but that the full circumstances of the murder would probably never be known.
During the trial of the accused, the Court heard that a detective had noticed that the bedroom in the victim's house had been redecorated and that the remains of two fires had been discovered in the grounds of the house.
The Crown prosecution contended that Mr McGinley had been killed because he was in the way of the adulterous affair.
The father of the victim, Mr Gerard McGinley Senior, said he felt sad for his daughter-in-law, and that his young grandaughters, aged seven and five, would have to be strong, but that they would make it through.
(SP)
Julie McGinley (31) and her lover Michael Monaghan (44) were found guilty of the August 2000 murder of Gerard McGinley whose body was discovered in a Co Leitrim wood, 10 months after his disappearance.
Sentencing the pair who were found guilty of the murder in December, Mr Justice Kerr today described the "opportunist killing" of Gerard McGinley was "callous and chilling".
Mr Justice Kerr said it was almost certain that the victim had been asleep in bed when he was murdered, but that the full circumstances of the murder would probably never be known.
During the trial of the accused, the Court heard that a detective had noticed that the bedroom in the victim's house had been redecorated and that the remains of two fires had been discovered in the grounds of the house.
The Crown prosecution contended that Mr McGinley had been killed because he was in the way of the adulterous affair.
The father of the victim, Mr Gerard McGinley Senior, said he felt sad for his daughter-in-law, and that his young grandaughters, aged seven and five, would have to be strong, but that they would make it through.
(SP)
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