Female prison officer kicked in stomach and elbowed in head by youth killer who dealt drugs in jail

A youth who was aged 16 when he murdered a friend who he claimed had labelled him a "rat" should not be sentenced to life in prison, a court has been told.

The Court of Appeal also heard on Tuesday, April 21 that since moving to an adult prison the appellant, who admitted to the murder of Glen “Ossie” Osborne (20), has since assaulted a female prison officer and sold heroin to fellow inmates.

The now 22-year-old, who cannot be named because he was a minor at the time the offence was committed, pleaded guilty in August 2020 to the murder of Mr Osborne at Ballybough House, Ballybough, Dublin on April 15, 2020. Mr Osborne's partner Lauren Cray gave birth to their first child two months after his death.

The defendant was sentenced to life with a review after ten years by Mr Justice Paul McDermott at the Central Criminal Court on December 16, 2020. He had no previous convictions at the time.

Mr Justice McDermott said that the attack had "many of the hallmarks of immaturity and stupidity, lack of judgement and proportionality" but was not of "the most egregious or malicious" type such as a meticulously planned killing. Therefore, he said, he could allow a review of the life sentence after ten years.

The youth’s case came before the Court of Appeal for re-sentencing on Tuesday. Since the appellant has been jailed, the Supreme Court has returned a landmark ruling that life sentences for a child convicted of murder should only be imposed in exceptional cases where the evidence showed the intentions and actions of the child were akin to those of an adult.

The ruling also said a sentencing court does not have jurisdiction to review terms of detention imposed on child offenders.

Marc Thompson SC, for the youth, noted the defendant’s sentence had been quashed and remitted back to the Court of Appeal for re-sentence following that Supreme Court’s ruling.

Before the hearing got underway Paul Carroll SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, called Detective Inspector Kenneth Hoare to give evidence in relation to two convictions the defendant had received since his incarceration for murder.

The Det Insp told the court that the youth had received a six-month prison sentence at Dublin District Court in May 2024 for having heroin with a value of approximately €280 for sale or supply within the prison on February 16, 2023. He said a possession of drugs charge was taken into consideration.

Det Insp Hoare confirmed the defendant had also received a five-month prison sentence in January 2023 for assaulting a female prison officer at Mountjoy on April 19, 2022. He said the woman was kicked in the stomach and elbowed in the head, resulting in a small cut to her left palm.

READ NEXT: Allegedly produced a large knife and assaulted a woman in Portlaoise

Opening the appeal against the defendant’s sentence, Mr Thompson argued that many of the factors warranting the imposition of a life sentence for a youth offender as identified by Ms Justice O’Malley in her judgment were not present in this case. He said there was an absence of evidence of planned efforts to conceal guilt, or of an intention to inflict sexual violence or particularly brutal physical violence.

He said it had been accepted that the appellant didn’t come to the scene intending to murder the deceased, who was “a good friend of his”.

Mr Thompson said the defendant had shown “genuine remorse” and there was an early plea of guilty.

A guard who intercepted the youth after the incident noted he was “distressed and crying”, counsel said, and when placed in a cell, he required assistance because of his “distraught state”.

The barrister said death had been caused by a single stab wound and there was “immediate panic and distress” from the appellant afterwards.

Although the knife was brought to the scene, it wasn’t produced straight away, Mr Thompson said. There was an initial fight with strikes on both sides, the deceased had the upper hand, and it was at that point that the knife was produced, said counsel.

He said this was a case which demonstrated “an angry impulsivity” and the “lashing out by a child”.

Mr Thompson asked the court, in structuring the sentence, to take into account “the most obvious and important thing” - his client’s plea of guilty.

READ NEXT: Laois man jailed for an attack on his Dublin landlord

He noted rehabilitation was “a work in progress”.

Mr Thompson said his client is someone who did not have a stable family life. His upbringing was “turbulent”, counsel said, and his grandparents had played a “key role” as his parents were “in and out of prison” and had not provided any structure to his childhood.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, sitting with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Tara Burns, noted it was clear from the appellant’s probation report that he has a “chronic drug abuse issue”.

Mr Thompson said the transfer from a juvenile centre to a prison has had a significant impact on the appellant. He asked the court to consider suspending a “significant portion” of the new sentence imposed, noting that when released, the appellant will “require assistance”.

He said the appellant had been dealing with his drug addiction issues whilst in Oberstown but that stopped when he was transferred to Mountjoy. He said this was as a result of availability, but noted the defendant had also “rejected” some of the forms of assistance.

Mr Thompson said the appellant’s engagement with education was “sporadic”. He said the defendant has completed his junior cert in history, geography and maths, has done courses in art and is taking part in a music class.

Concluding his submissions, Mr Thompson said nothing he had said should be interpreted as negating or taking away from the appellant’s full responsibility for Glen Osborne’s death. He said his client had asked him to apologise once again to Mr Osborne’s family and handed in a letter of apology from his client to the court.

READ more crime and court coverage HERE.

In response, Mr Carroll said the Director’s position was that she is not going to advocate for a “specific sentence”, noting that two judgments relating to this area are awaited.

He highlighted as an aggravating factor a phone call between the appellant and another person, in which the defendant said: “Don’t go around calling me a rat. You know what I’m going to do to him”.

He said the defendant had brought a knife concealed in a bag and when the deceased was getting the better of him, he went to the bag, stabbed Mr Osborne and then fled the scene.

Mr Justice Edwards said the court would reserve judgment and directed that a governor’s and education report be prepared.

Acknowledging the presence of both families at the hearing and their desire for closure in terms of the legal process, Mr Justice Edwards said the court would be “sensitive to that” and would endeavour to provide its judgment “as soon as we can”.

The youth’s sentencing hearing was told that the day before he died, the deceased went with the appellant, and they got drugs without making a payment.

The following day, the windows of Mr Osborne's home were smashed, in what was said to be retaliation for the fact that payment had not been made.

Mr Osborne believed that the defendant had identified his home to those people. On the day of the murder, there were "angry messages to and fro", and the defendant was labelled a "rat".

The defendant went to meet the deceased carrying a white bag with a knife in it.

There was a fight which was broken up by onlookers but then a second fight began that was caught on CCTV. The defendant, who had by now taken the knife from the bag, could be seen swinging his arm and stabbing Mr Osborne once in the chest.

A pathologist's report showed that he died from a single stab wound that penetrated the heart, causing massive blood loss.