The man who “danced on” a prisoner’s body after a vicious beating has admitted the
murder, the Irish Mirror can reveal.
The thug, who repeatedly stamped on Robert O’Connor’s head in a Mountjoy prison cell last summer, is attempting to take the rap – despite the involvement of three other lags. The criminal, aged in his late 30s, made the admission to gardai after he was arrested in jail.
O’Connor was brutally beaten and kicked in a cell on Mountjoy’s C2 landing by four men last July in an attack which lasted seconds. The 34-year-old, who was found with his trousers around his ankles following the incident, was rushed to the nearby Mater Hospital but died the following week having suffered a severe brain bleed.
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Four suspects were quickly identified. But only the man who stamped on O’Connor is attempting to take the full rap and gardai want to know why. One theory is the man – a former drug addict already serving a lengthy sentence – has been paid to take the heat off other suspects.
Another is he may have been cleared of any drug debt. A source said: “It’s not known why he has made this move but he has his own motivations.
“But it’s clear this development doesn’t absolve anyone else.” Other suspects include a suspected Kinahan gunman, serving a sentence for his role in a botched murder and another man caged for aggravated burglary
All four suspects were seen leaving the cell and entering another where they changed their clothes before emerging as if “nothing had happened”. Gardai have established a senior Kinahan gangster sanctioned the attack on O’Connor.
The motive for the fatal attack came after the victim’s female friends was attacked on the outside months before. Sources said he subsequently ordered an attack on a fellow lag over that incident.
As part of the major inquiry, investigators are also probing an incident on O’Connor two days before the fatal attack in which he was hit on the head with a kettle. It happened on D wing and despite O’Connor refusing medical attention, he was moved to C wing for his own safety.
He was in jail for firearms offences and had previous convictions for drugs and car theft.
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