Even as he was questioned by police after knifing Elinor O'Brien, a stabbing which would eventually kill her, Kevin Mannion's attitude towards a woman he claimed to love was clear. Mannion, a 45-year-old cocaine fuelled thug, constantly referred to Elinor as 'the girl', or 'that girl'.
Within 30 minutes of stabbing her, knowing exactly what he'd done, Mannion had called his solicitor to make sure he was ready for the inevitable court case. And as Mannion concocted increasingly desperate lies in a selfish bid to save his own skin, it was obvious that Elinor, a young woman more than two decades his junior, was terrified of him.
She did everything she could to avoid Mannion's vengeful wrath, knowing just what he was capable of. When questioned by friends and family about injuries she'd suffered at Mannion's hand, Elinor invented a violent ex-boyfriend to try and explain away the black eyes and bruises.
