Odhran Kelly: Lurgan man handed a life sentence after admitting brutal murder of nursing assistant
A Lurgan man was handed a life sentence on Tuesday (November 3) after he admitted involvement in the murder of Odhran Kelly.
As the 34-year-old stood in the dock of Belfast Crown Court, with Mr Kelly’s relatives sitting a few feet behind, defence KC Eugene Grant asked for him to be re-arraigned on the single charge against him.
After the clerk put the charge to Gary Scullion, namely that he murdered Mr Kelly on 3 December 2023, he said simply “guilty”.
Mr Justice Fowler told Scullion given his admission, “there is only one sentence that can be imposed and that is life imprisonment".
The judge explained the next step is to have a tariff hearing to fix the minimum term Scullion must serve.
Prosecuting counsel David McNeill said there were four other defendants in the case, adding a review has already been scheduled for November 13.
Remanding Scullion in custody, Mr Justice Fowler said the four defendants should attend court on that date but that given Scullion’s admission, he need not attend.
The other four and their charges are:
Shane Harte, 34, from Garland Avenue in Lurgan - murder;
Andrea Stevenson, 45, of Faulkner Heights in Bangor - murder;
Stephanie McClelland, 38, from Lagmore Grove in Lisburn - assisting an offender by assisting in the removal and destruction of the victim’s body;
Crystal Angela Redden, 32, from Gort Mhaoilir, Raheen, Athenry, Co. Galway - perverting the course of justice by signing a false statement.
Previous courts have heard how 23-year-old Odhran was subjected to a “prolonged violent assault using weapons,” in circumstances where “he was unable to defend himself”.
Officers investigating the murder found “an horrific scene” in the flat where he was allegedly assaulted, and in the flat opposite, officers found a machete “in the shower”.
Detective Sergeant Weir described how firefighters discovered the “badly burnt body” of the nursing assistant after they were called to a car on fire on Edward Street, Lurgan, on December 3.
Police officers called at the vehicle’s last registered address, Stevenson’s flat on Edward Street, but on their way they spotted a “large amount of blood” on the door of Scullion’s flat opposite the property.
When they went inside, officers discovered “a significant amount of congealed blood, drug paraphernalia, a large amount of cash and disposable gloves with blood on them”.
When officers went into Stevenson’s flat, “there was a strong smell of bleach” and they found Scullion, dressed in just his boxer shorts, sitting in the kitchen.
There was “clothing and blood-stained washing in the washing machine” and the machete was in the shower cubicle.
According to the police case, Scullion, Stevenson and McClelland were captured on CCTV carrying the body from Scullion’s flat.
DS Weir said that when officers arrived, they were confronted by what “could only be described as an horrific scene” and it was clear that “a horrific attack had taken place” in the property.
The court has heard that hours after the brutal killing, Harte and his girlfriend Redden travelled to Galway, booking a hotel while en route, with Harte stopping to buy £120 of clothes at a shopping centre.
DS Weir said police suspected that Harte had dumped or disposed of the clothes he had been wearing the night before, buying clothes to replace them.