Two jailed for murder of man they chased from pub

The court heard that Vincent Parsons was subjected to a pitiless beating and left for dead

Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a man in Dublin in 2019.

Philip Disney, 27, from Donomore Crescent, and Sean Carlyle, 30, from Donomore Avenue, both in Tallaght in the south west of the city, had denied murdering Vincent Parsons at Killinarden Way in August 2019.

However, they were found guilty by a unanimous jury.

The judge, Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo, said that Disney and Carlyle subjected Mr Parsons to a pitiless beating assault and left him for dead.

Mr Parsons's family said on Friday that he had been trying to get away but was "hunted down" by "the most remorseless people".

Irish broadcaster RTÉ reports that Mr Parsons was at a friend's stag party on 24 August 2019 in the Killinarden Inn.

He had been drinking for several hours and started hugging people, with some becoming irritated, the court heard.

Carlyle and Disney were also in the pub and became agitated.

Disney pointed at and spoke to Mr Parsons and had to be held back.

The prosecution said that following the interaction, Mr Parsons immediately ran from the pub "as if his life depended on it".

Disney and Carlyle followed, got into Carlyle’s black van, and caught up with Mr Parsons at the green on Killinarden Way.

The court heard that Mr Parsons, a father-of-two, had been hiding behind a bush and had tried to run away when Disney and Carlyle arrived and spotted him.

They beat and fatally injured him within 48 seconds. He died in hospital two days later on 26 August 2019 with his family by his bedside.

Following the attack, Disney and Carlyle drove to Carlyle’s home, changed clothes, hid the van in a nearby housing estate and returned to the pub within 35 minutes to manufacture an alibi that they had never left.

They were linked to the murder through bloodstains, hand injuries, forensics and CCTV evidence, the court heard.

Mr Parsons' watch, a gift from his daughter with the inscription, "To Dad, love Jade, Xmas 2011", was found in the black van.

Detective Garda Conor Harrison told the court on Friday that Disney has two previous convictions for road traffic offences, while Carlyle has 27 previous convictions, including a sentence of three years for violent disorder after he was involved in row in a pub in Tallaght.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Parsons's wife Claire said they had been going out with each other since they were 14 and she had never seen him in a fight.

She said that since his death, the family's "world has fallen apart".

The judge said Mr Parsons had been subjected to a short, intensely violent assault which was not spontaneous.

"Both (Disney and Carlyle) were composed and fully in control of their decisions," he said.

"Mr Parsons was subjected to a pitiless beating, he offered no resistance and was left for dead ."