"McGhee (32) was given a mandatory life sentence on Wednesday for killing Mason, who was found critically injured on his bedroom floor in March 2021 and died in hospital three days later. McGhee was named after a Central Criminal Court judge lifted an earlier ban on identifying her, following an application by Irish Independent publishers Mediahuis Ireland, and RTÉ. The boy's father, John Paul O'Connell, who is already in jail for neglect and helping to cover up the murder, was also identified."
"Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the accused's mistreatment of Mason that culminated in his death was an "appalling breach of trust" and must have been "very frightening and bewildering" for the boy. McGhee, wearing a purple fleece top, sat in the dock staring straight ahead as the mandatory life sentence was handed down."
"Speaking outside court, Mason's mother, Elizabeth Conway, said that although she had got justice for her "beautiful son", it was a bittersweet day as "nothing will ever bring Mason back". She described McGhee and O'Connell as "two very evil people" and said she would never forgive herself for trusting them."
McGhee, 32, received a mandatory life sentence after Mason was found critically injured in March 2021 and died in hospital three days later. A court lifted a ban on naming McGhee following media applications, and the boy’s father, John Paul O'Connell, was identified; he is already jailed for neglect and assisting in concealing the murder. Mr Justice Paul McDermott described the mistreatment that led to Mason's death as an "appalling breach of trust" that must have been "very frightening and bewildering" for the child. McGhee also received two concurrent four-and-a-half-year sentences for child cruelty. Mason's mother said justice was bittersweet and that nothing can bring her son back.
Read at Irish Independent
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]