Garda killer Stephen Silver has “expressed remorse” behind bars as he spends his time in a specialised unit.
Silver, 46, who was last week found guilty of the capital murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan, has been housed in a separate unit in Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison. Sources say that when Silver was first admitted following the murder of Det Gda Horkan in Castlerea, Co Roscommon in June 2020, he was “erratic” and extremely difficult to deal with.
Upon entering the unit in Mountjoy, sources claim he has become calmer, and even expressed remorse for his actions. One said: “He’s been full of remorse. He’s also been assessed repeatedly given his obvious problems.
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“But he isn’t a problem now that he’s housed in the right place. He’s constantly getting psychological assessment and is on a strict regime.” It is understood Silver is detained in an isolated part of Mountjoy Prison and is largely confined to his cell for up to 23 hours a day.
Prisoners detained in the unit are not allowed to mix and therefore Silver’s interactions with others are extremely limited. Sources say he is only ever let out of the cell for meals and for psychological assessment.
They added that given Silver’s history, he will need constan tevaluation but for the moment, authorities are happy to keep him detained where he is.
Silver is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of capital murder last Wednesday. He faces a mandatory sentence of a minimum of 40 years behind bars.
After two trials at the Central Criminal Court, a jury found Silver, who shot Det Gda Horkan 11 times with his own gun, guilty of capital murder last week.
In November last year, a jury considered their verdicts over three days before revealing that they had a disagreement that they were not able to resolve. That jury had been given the option of returning a majority verdict.
The trial heard Det Gda Horkan was a well-regarded member of the force with 25 years’ service and no disciplinary issues on his record. The prosecution told the jury Det Gda Horkan had no idea when he signed out his firearm on the afternoon of June 17, 2020, that he would be shot dead with the same gun just nine hours later.
They maintained Silver had a “seething resentment” toward gardai and that the shooting of Det Gda Horkan was “a deliberate action done with the intent of murder”. Following the verdict, Ms Justice Tara Burns thanked the jury for their diligence.
She said: “You sat and took all of those in and it is clear to me you listened to every piece of evidence.” Ms Justice Burns said it was not often that the courts have a case of this nature, nor was it often to have people who applied themselves so diligently to the case.
She told the jury they were now exempt from jury service for the rest of their lives.
Silver, a motorbike mechanic from Aughaward, Foxford, Co Mayo, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Det Gda Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty.
He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17, 2020, and the jury were told the main issue in the trial was his state of mind at the time of the shooting. During the trial, the jury heard evidence from Silver that he believed Det Gda Horkan was “a heavy down from Dublin” who was trying to kill him.
He said Det Gda Horkan was wearing a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and "didn’t come across” as a garda. He gave evidence that a struggle ensued between them before he fell to the ground, and in the process of getting up he felt the gun on Det Gda Horkan’s hip.
Silver said: “He had his hand on the gun and I had my hand on the gun and we wrestled. The gun came out. I couldn’t tell you who took it out.”
He said that he felt Det Gda Horkan “was trying to kill me”, adding: “I kept shooting until the gun finished and there was no ammunition left.”
The jury also heard evidence from Dr Brenda Wright, interim clinical director at the Central Mental Hospital, who said it was her view Silver’s illness at the time he killed Det Gda Horkan was such that it impaired his thinking and his judgment and therefore contributed significantly to his actions at that time.
However, witness for the prosecution, consultant psychiatrist Professor Harry Kennedy, told the jury he found “no positive evidence” that Silver had suffered a relapse of bipolar affective disorder at the time he shot dead Det Gda Horkan.
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