A man who murdered his wife with a Samurai sword and showed no remorse for years before entering a late guilty plea has had his life sentence backdated by three years.
The sentencing judge had refused to backdate William Eagers' sentence to the date he entered custody, as she considered the distress caused to the victim's family and the "very late" plea as aggravating factors.
However at the Court of Appeal today, Mr Justice George Birmingham said that, in recognition of his guilty plea, Eagers (63) was entitled to have his life sentence backdated to take into account the three years he spent in custody before he was jailed.
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Eagers pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife of 34 years, Jean Eagers, in their home at Willow Wood Grove in Clonsilla, north Dublin, on June 21, 2020, which was a Father's Day.
Mother-of-two Ms Eagers (57) died of her wounds at the house. A family member raised the alarm and the Garda Armed Support Unit forced entry to the house following a stand-off with Eagers and found Jean on the ground with serious injuries.
Medical personnel found Jean in the sitting room but she was unresponsive and had no pulse. They recorded 16 stab wounds to her body and attempted CPR but were unsuccessful.
At the trial in the Central Criminal Court in March, Eagers entered a plea of guilty but Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring noted the plea was entered on March 10, 2023, ten days before his trial was due to take place. She did not backdate his life sentence and said it would commence from March 10. The court heard that the defendant has been in custody since June 21, 2020, the day of the murder.
Ms Justice Ring said: "I note the family's victim impact statements and the distress that the past three years has caused to them. This matter was resolved at a very, very late stage in the proceedings. The court is aware this is an aggravating element for victims and families in cases such as this. I won't give him credit for time spent in custody for the past three years. He will commence his sentence from the date of his plea on March 10."
At the court of appeal today, Sean Guerin SC, for Eagers, said that while there had been a "lateness" of entering a plea, a guilty plea was "always a mitigating factor" and that should have been taken into account by the trial judge.
Mr Guerin said his client was now 63-years-old, meaning that Eagers would have been eligible for parole consideration at 75 had the sentence been backdated. Counsel said the failure to do so meant that there was a "real consequence" for his client, who would now have to wait until he was 78 for parole consideration.
In adjusting the sentence to June 21, 2020, Mr Justice Birmingham said that there had been a "departure from the norm" in the court below in not backdating the sentence.
Mr Justice Birmingham said it had been an "extraordinarily serious and tragic case for everyone involved".
He said that the accused "always receives some credit in plea" and there was an expectation that mitigation would be taken into account on the sentence imposed.
Sentencing judge Ms Justice Ring noted the "horrific circumstances" of the killing and said no child should be put in the position where they see their father murder their mother "in circumstances that can only be described as terrible".
At the trial, Defence counsel Sean Guerin SC, for Eagers, said his client wanted to apologise to his family for "the horrific acts" he committed that day and convey his deep sense of shame and remorse. "He loves his wife and doesn't know why he did what he did," he added.
The deceased's daughter Michele Connolly cried in the witness box as she told the court that her mum was her best friend and they shared a relationship that most people could only wish for. "She was my rock, a strong caring and warm person that made people want to be in her company. She always knew what to say and was always right, I don't have that comfort anymore," she said.
She said she was 14 weeks pregnant with her first child at the time and that day was supposed to be a happy day as it was Father's Day. She said she learned about an accident in her parent's house and "arrived to chaos and so much fear".
Addressing her father in the statement, Ms Connolly said: "I don't think you will ever comprehend how much you have destroyed me. I worry how my little brother processes that day. You have robbed so much from happy newlyweds and the excitement of a new baby. You have robbed us of our support system. Trying to navigate loss and grief when becoming a mother is so difficult".
Dillon Eagers said in his statement that he witnessed his mother being brutally murdered by a person that was supposed to protect her; "my dad". "When I was trying to get into the room to save my mum, he looked at me and said 'you're next'".
Dillon said he has constant night terrors, undergoes hours of therapy and the incident had ruined relationships with his family and friends.
He said he has lost the only home he has ever known. "One of the hardest things is to see my sister become a mother without her mother by her side," he said. He called his mother an amazing person and said she was someone who always gave to others and wanted nothing in return. "I love you mam, I miss you so much," he said.
The deceased's brother, Ronnie O'Farrell, said in his statement that the defendant had shown no remorse for almost three years and had chosen to prolong the agony for his family and the deceased's family. "Father's Day is to be enjoyed with our families until I got a call at 1.25pm to say that Jean had been murdered by her husband. Jean's home should have been a place of safety and comfort but you have destroyed that. Her life was taken by the one person she should have been able to trust in the world, you, her husband. Most of all you have robbed the world of a beautiful woman, our heartache will never end because of you".
