BREAKING: Kildare man gets life for murder of 'best friend'

A 30-year-old man - who "brutally" beat his best friend to death with a baseball bat because he wanted to kill - has been sentenced to life in prison.

Robert Broughan, of St Patrick's Park, Rathangan in Co Kildare, attacked Roy Hopkins, 34, on the Grand Canal on July 31, 2020 after they had gone there together to fish.

Broughan told the gardaí there had never been "a cross word between them", but he wanted to make his friend's "head explode" and had also wanted to kill another person.

He also text the victim's phone after he had killed him asking Mr Hopkins "how's the head".

He told gardaí that if he had received a reply then he would have gone back to "finish him off".

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Broughan had not shown any sympathy for the Hopkins family or expressed any remorse for what he had done.

Mr Justice Hunt imposed the mandatory term of life in prison on him.

More to follow../ 

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