A man murdered his wife of 34 years by thrusting a Samurai sword into her 16 times before turning to their son and telling him “you’re next”, a court heard.
Dillon Eagers told the court he had tried in vain to save his mother Jean as she was killed by his father William in their home, and now suffers constant night terrors and has undergone hours of therapy as a result. William Eagers told gardai he couldn’t recollect what had happened during the attack on Father’s Day 2020 and claimed he “lost his memory and blacked out”.
Sentencing judge Ms Justice Mary Ellen 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”.
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The judge refused to backdate Eagers’ sentence to when he went into custody three years ago, stating this matter had been resolved at a “very very late stage in the proceedings”. She added: “I note the family’s victim impact statements and the distress that the past three years has caused to them.
“The court is aware this is an aggravating element for victims and families in cases such as this.” The testimonies were heard as part of three victim impact statements read to the Central Criminal Court, where William Eagers was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering Jean.
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. Mr Guerin added: “He loves his wife and doesn’t know why he did what he did.”
Eagers, 62, appeared at the court yesterday for his sentence hearing, having pleaded guilty earlier this month to the murder of Jean Eagers in their home at Willow Wood Grove in Clonsilla, North Dublin on June 21, 2020.
Mother-of-two Ms Eagers, 57, died of her wounds at the house. A previous hearing of the case heard that a family member raised the alarm on the day and the Garda Armed Support Unit forced entry to the house following a stand-off where Jean was discovered with serious injuries.
William Eagers, a former export operations manager and part-time taxi driver, had been charged with murder and the production of a Samurai sword while committing the offence in the course of a dispute.At yesterday’s sentencing hearing, Garda Shane McCarthy detailed the background to the murder.
He told prosecution counsel Sean Gillane, William and Jean had been married since 1986 and the incident took place at what had been the family home for most of the couple’s married lives.
Their son Dillon, who was 24 years old at the time, was also living in the three-bedroom semi-detached dormer bungalow with his parents.
Dillon’s sister Michele no longer lived in the family home.
Outlining the events that led up to the murder, Mr Gillane said that Dillon’s bedroom was on the ground floor of the house adjacent to the sitting room. Dillon was asleep in the downstairs bedroom that morning when he was awoken by his father shouting.
Dillon heard his father shouting “shut up shut up” and went to see what was going on. The court heard that Dillon saw his father “plunging” the sword in a downward motion towards Jean.
When Dillon shouted at his father to stop, William shouted back: “Alright, you’re next” and began to move in the direction of the door.
At this point, Dillon ran into the back garden and made his way to a neighbour’s house before emergency services were contacted.
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