Prisoner stamps on fellow lag's head until he dies after luring him into cell

David Dunne, 40, will face the mandatory term of life imprisonment after a jury agreed he had 'lured' Robert O'Connor into his cell and unleashed the horrific attack

A prisoner who killed a fellow inmate by knocking him down and stamping on his head in a "vicious and unprovoked" assault has been convicted of murder.

David Dunne, 40, will face the mandatory term of life imprisonment at his sentencing on December 16 after a jury agreed he had "lured" Robert O'Connor into his cell at Ireland's Mountjoy prison, before launching a deadly attack. Dunne had pleaded not guilty to the murder on July 29 2022, claiming he did not intend to kill Mr O'Connor and acted in self-defence after the deceased "attacked" him.

O'Connor was left with multiple blunt force trauma injuries to his head, torso, arms and legs. A pathologist's report and neuropathology exam revealed that the blows to his head caused his brain to rotate, which led to the tearing of nerve cells. The injuries were also found to be consistent with stamping, punching or kicking.

His devastated family broke down in court and embraced one another as verdict was read out.

Mr O'Connor had been in a relationship for one year before his death. A garda involved in the investigation said it had a "dramatic and serious" effect on his girlfriend's health. The 32-year-old was handed a prison sentence on July 27, 2022, and returned from court to Mountjoy that evening.

But at around 7pm, he was assaulted in his cell by a number of other prisoners, leaving him with a bloody nose and damage to one eye. Following the assault, Mr O'Connor was placed in protection for a while before being moved to C landing. Two days later, CCTV footage showed him entering Dunne's cell followed by Dunne and three other men.

Hearing commotion, prison officers rushed over, with one telling the trial that Dunne was stamping more than once on Mr O'Connor's head. The victim was taken to hospital and pronounced dead on August 1 when brain stem testing revealed no activity.

Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan told the trial: "The skull is a rigid structure, so if there is impact the brain will move within this rigid structure but doesn't have a lot of room to move, so that rotation of the brain will cause the nerve cells to get torn or shorn from the rotational force."

In his first garda interview, the accused read from a prepared statement, saying: "I'm sorry for his family, I really am. I think about it every day and night since this happened. It's killing me inside because he was a good friend of all who knew him. I'm really sorry Robbie yeah to you and your family."

He claimed that he only wanted to chat with Mr O'Connor but that once they were inside the cell, Mr O'Connor punched him twice. He initially admitted only to punching back and denied stamping on Mr O'Connor's head. He said he didn't want to kill Mr O'Connor and claimed to have struck him with a "rabbit punch".

In his closing speech, prosecution counsel Michael Delaney SC described Dunne's account as "self-serving" and lacking in credibility. He accused Dunne of a "vicious and unprovoked assault" and said CCTV evidence suggested "an element of coordination" in the interactions seen between Mr Dunne and three other prisoners in the minutes before the fatal encounter.

Mr Delaney said the CCTV undermined Dunne's claim that he invited the deceased to his cell for a "friendly chat" or that he acted in self-defence after being attacked by the deceased. "The objective, reliable evidence shows he [the accused] lured Robert O'Connor into that cell for the purpose of attacking him," Mr Delaney said.

Brendan Grehan SC, for Dunne, said the killing was not intentional or planned but was "in fact a reaction" without any premeditation. He asked the jury to return a verdict of manslaughter.