A DOWNPATRICK man will spend at least nine years in prison for the merciless killing of his neighbour. Yesterday, at Laganside Courthouse in Belfast, Mr Justice O’Hara said Barry Donnelly’s victim, Aidan Mann, “was an entirely innocent victim, who did nothing to provoke or justify the fatal attack by the defendant.” The senior judge said he had “the unique privilege” of watching a tribute to Mr Mann, who was also known as Zen Black, and in which he described himself as, amongst other things, a tattoo artist, model, sailor and a craftsman.
Mr Justice O’Hara said the deceased was “a charming and talented young man, still in his 20s, who had so much left to offer and achieve” and that “it is difficult to imagine a less threatening individual than the person who appears in the video.” He added that Aidan’s mother suffered a “dreadful loss” and also spoke of how it continues to impact on her and the “damage” caused to the extended family members’ lives. Following the killing, Donnelly was found to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and that when he killed Mr Mann he was “actively psychotic.” Mr Justice O’Hara said that psychiatrists envisaged that the killer, who has been an inpatient at the Shannon Clinic, a secure unit in Belfast, since shortly after his arrest, “will be moved to prison”.
Graphic details of the incident were outlined at an earlier hearing, last week. Acknowledging that the attack “was largely captured on CCTV,” Mr Justice O’Hara said Mr Mann was stabbed at Church Street on the morning of 3 January, 2022. “At about 11am, a 999 call was made to the police about a stabbing,” the judge outlined. When the police arrived at the scene a few minutes later, they found ambulance personnel attending to Aidan Mann “who was on the ground while, a few feet away, the defendant was being restrained by members of the public”. Commending the bravery of members of the public who detained Donnelly, having stopped and intervened when they saw him carry out the stabbing, the judge acknowledged they intervened “despite the risk to their own safety.”
The court also heard that two large knives were on the ground close by. Mr Mann had lived at a flat along Church Street for two months, while the defendant lived there for approximately seven years. Mr Justice O’Hara said CCTV footage showed Mr Mann coming outside shortly before 11am. “It then shows the defendant following, and chasing Mr Mann, who was unable to escape. “Within 500 feet, the defendant caught Mr Mann who fell or was knocked to the ground,” before the defendant “straddled” Mr Mann and “mercilessly stabbed” him, inflicting wounds to his legs, torso and chest.” The court heard that one of the wounds to Mr Mann’s chest was “the fatal wound”, with Mr Mann pronounced dead just 45 minutes after he left his flat. “It needs to be made clear Mr Mann was an entirely innocent victim who did nothing to provoke or justify the fatal attack. Mr Mann and the defendant had no contact by phone, text or social media, although over the previous few days the defendant had complained a number of times to the occupant of a neighbouring flat, and that the police entries suggested that Donnelly was viewed as ‘a bit paranoid’ but ‘nothing hinted at what was to follow’,” the judge continued.
The court also heard that Mr Mann had previously sent messages to friends that he was afraid to leave his home because of the defendant who, he believed, wanted to start a fight. The court also heard that during police interviews, Donnelly did not deny what he had done, and suggested he was carrying the knives in self-defence and had been subject to abuse for more than two years.
He also admitted that, when pulled off Mr Mann by members of the public, he had shouted ‘let him die’ and had shouted that the stabbing was in revenge for his brother – when in fact, nothing had happened to Donnelly’s sibling. He was also found to be “suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning” and this abnormality “substantially impaired his ability to form a rational judgement and to exercise self-control.” “The significance of this analysis is that the experts concur that the conditions required in law, for the crime to be treated as manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility are satisfied,” the court heard. During yesterday’s hearing, Donnelly’s “dangerousness” was spoken about at length, with the judge concluding that “the defendant is dangerous” and he is “satisfied that there is a real risk of committing further offences, and that those offences may be serious.” Noting that Donnelly had not sought medical help in the decade before the fatal attack on Mr Mann, Mr Justice O’Hara said the defendant had used cannabis “freely”, and had not received any medical treatment in those 10 years and was not even registered with a GP. “He appears to be an isolated individual, with no strong family ties and no history of employment – either of which might be a stabilising factor and, he has also been grossly negligent about taking care of his own health.” “Having decided that he is dangerous, I turn to decide which sentencing option is appropriate and take into account his limited criminal record, expressions of remorse and the extent of responsibility for his actions and his plea of guilty. “The crime of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility does not mean the defendant does not carry any responsibility for his actions. In my judgement, the state which this defendant was in, when he was paranoid and hearing voices, was the result of his own failure to seek any medical treatment or counselling, his use of cannabis and his failure to do anything with his life other, apparently, than drift.”
Noting that he was 36 when he killed Mr Mann, the judge heard that Donnelly had not worked for 10 years since moving to Downpatrick. He said imposing an indeterminate custodial sentence would “achieve the best possible protection of the public” and “from the risk which I believe may continue to be posed in the future” by the defendant, adding that such a sentence “is the heaviest sentence which the court can impose, other than a life sentence, but in this case it is the proper one.” Mr Justice O’Hara concluded: “I consider that the proper tariff is nine years” and that this is the minimum period the defendant must serve in prison before his release can be even considered by the Parole Commissioners. He added that the commissioners must be provided with his sentencing remarks, victim impact statements and the psychiatric reports and pre-sentence report.
During the same hearing, Donnelly was also sentenced for attacks on a Downpatrick mother and son, which occurred on 28 June 2021. The court heard that on this occasion, the defendant punched and attacked the pair in a communal courtyard. The incident, described by Mr Justice O’Hara as “unwarranted and unprovoked,” was soon followed by a second attack on the pair, at Bridge Street, this time using a golf club. When questioned by police, Donnelly “invented a story that he had been the victim” and that the mother and son were the aggressors as they tried to enter his home – something the senior judge told yesterday’s hearing was “entirely untrue.”
He also said the woman or her son sustained a number of injuries and “still suffer from the aftereffects of the assaults”. Both – who during his sentencing remarks Mr Justice O’Hara acknowledged that they too were “entirely innocent victims” – were “badly shaken by what had happened to them” and required hospital treatment. Donnelly was not in the courtroom yesterday, but joined remotely from the Shannon Clinic. He spoke only to confirm he could see and view the court, and identify himself. In total, he admitted five offences – manslaughter by reasons of diminished responsibility; possession of knives in public, causing actual bodily harm to the mother and son and possessing the golf club with intent to commit an offence.
