The mother of slain teen Josh Dunne has been given back the clothes he wore on the night he was killed.
Heartbroken mum Diane Dunne says she feels emotional but relieved to have the last items of clothing Josh (16) was wearing on the day he was killed in Dublin’s East Wall on January 26, 2021.
After asking gardai to return the clothes, Diane this week received a box containing them - which she says she hasn’t yet had the strength to open. “I felt like the blood drained out of me when it came. I wanted the clothes back and asked for them back. But I haven’t actually looked at them yet. I just can’t bring myself to look.”
Read more: Josh Dunne's mum relieved as bike thief Gavin Dooner jailed
But Diane, who says she never wants her son to be forgotten, says she will bring herself to look, and for now is just glad to have Josh’s belongings back. “They’re the last things he was wearing when it happened. The fact that they’re his last things he wore means I wanted them. It was important to me.
“I feel drained but I will get back up and keep moving for my kids,” she added. “I’m never going to be me again but I’m here and I’m still fighting for what I believe in.” Diane is now focusing on keeping Josh’s memory alive - evident by a memorial bench and flowers planted for him outside his Coultry Green home in Ballymun.
Last month Gavin Dooner (22), received a two year sentence for stealing a delivery cyclist’s bike that later led to the incident that claimed Josh’s life.
Talented footballer Josh, from Ballymun, died when he was knifed twice in the chest at East Wall Road. George Gonzaga Bento admitted to stabbing Josh but walked free last summer when he was acquitted of a murder charge.
Last month Dooner admitted stealing an electric bike, worth around €400, belonging to Tiago de Silva. He also pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Guillherme Quieroz, dangerous driving of a moped, driving without a licence or insurance and criminal damage.
As the hearing got underway, prosecuting barrister Kieran Kelly told judge Martin Nolan that innocent Josh had no connection “good, bad or indifferent” with any of the parties and had been in the area for “legitimate business”.
The court was shown CCTV of Dooner stealing the electric bike outside Lidl in East Wall, north inner city in Dublin. He drove off on his moped with the bike over his shoulder. Quieroz and Bento, pals with bike owner de Silva, later spotted Dooner and got involved in retrieving the bike.
The row kicked off on East Wall Road. Josh and his pals had gone to get pizza in the area, but when they got there the shop was closed. One witness told gardai that Dooner shouted at the teens: “Back me up, back me up.” Another witness explained to investigators that the teenagers appeared to be hesitant to get involved.
The court heard that Josh held Dooner’s moped as the fight broke out as the accused punched and kicked Quieroz. Josh did not attack Bento until he stabbed his friend, when the young lad reacted by punching Bento. Bento stabbed him twice in the chest, but said it was in self-defence. The CCTV footage was shown in court, and Josh is seen stumbling back before falling to the ground.
It was the first time Diane was able to watch the footage. She previously told this paper: “They only went out for pizza and that’s all they did. And it cost Josh his life. It was heartbreaking to see it for the first time. It just felt like we were going through it all again. It was traumatising. But I had to see it just for myself. I was ready today to watch it. In that CCTV footage it’s clear he didn’t get involved until the last minute."
Dooner, of Ravensdale Road, East Wall, Dublin 3, fled the scene. Judge Nolan said Dooner - who has 17 previous convictions - initiated the dispute and assaulted the delivery driver before sentencing him to two years.
His co-accused Tiernan Ryan, whom the court heard arrived later at the scene in East Wall Road, also pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Quieroz. The 27-year-old, of no fixed abode in Dublin, has 23 previous convictions, including smuggling drugs into prison. He was jailed for nine months.
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