'Nothing but evil': 22-year-old 'tormented' man (65) before stabbing him to death in own home
Accused pleaded guilty and was convicted to a life sentence for murdering 65-year-old Christopher Hall
A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 65-year-old Christopher Hall.
The actions of Owen Maughan, who harassed and tormented an elderly and vulnerable man with a brain injury before stabbing him to death in his own home, have been described by the victim's family as "nothing but evil".
The Central Criminal Court heard that days before murdering Christopher Hall, Owen Maughan had brought him to an ATM, where the 65-year-old victim withdrew cash and handed it to his killer.
Mr Hall's phone was also found in Maughan's bedroom.
The court heard such were his injuries, Mr Hall's body was unrecognisable to his family.
Mr Hall's daughter Rebecca told the Central Criminal Court that the decision by Maughan to plead guilty to murdering her father does not change anything for her family, as it "does not undo or justify" what he did and will not bring her father back.
She added: "You took the life of an innocent and vulnerable man that had a brain injury, your murderous crime on him was heinous and barbarous and my family will always wonder why you did this.
"It was senseless, you took his life in his own home, where he lived alone, a place where he was supposed to feel safe and secure, your actions were nothing but evil."
Ms Hall said she had found her father's body on the floor between two chairs in their sitting room and that he was lying on his back in a pool of his own blood.
"He was clothed but his clothes looked like they had just been thrown on to answer the door. I always think he must have only got out of bed moments before his life was taken".
Ms Hall said she planned to bring her father to the garda station that day because Maughan had "harassed him and stolen from him days before taking his life".
The testimony was heard as part of an emotional victim impact statement read today to the Central Criminal Court, where Owen Maughan was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering 65-year-old Christopher Hall.
The sentence was backdated to July 4, 2022, when he went into custody.
Maughan of Dun Saithne Avenue, Balbriggan appeared at the court for his sentence hearing, having pleaded guilty last month at a Central Criminal Court pre-trial hearing to murdering Mr Hall at his home in Dun Saithne Green, Balbriggan, Co Dublin between November 23 and 24 2021, both dates inclusive.
Sentencing judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott noted that when cases come before the court and a plea has been entered, the focus "rightly falls on the victim of the crime" and the consequences for the family, which he said he had heard "so eloquently expressed" in the two victim impact statements.
He said Mr Hall was "clearly very loved" and he expressed his deepest sympathy to the family for their loss.
The judge thanked the Hall family for their two statements saying that they "were very difficult to compose and they took a lot".
Earlier, the court heard that Maughan has 39 previous convictions, 20 of which were committed as a child and 19 as an adult.