Pair sentenced for manslaughter

Mr Justice Hart, sitting today at Londonderry Crown Court (sitting at Belfast), handed down sentences to Robert Porter and Niall Regan who abandoned Gregory Woods in an isolated area near the Glenshane Forest when he was extremely drunk and not properly clothed to cope with temperatures in or around 0 degrees Celsius.

The next day, Regan reported to the police that Gregory Woods was missing. On the following day, Mr Woods' body was found by his brother.

The post-mortem report concluded Mr Woods' death was due to hypothermia where heavy intoxication was a contributory factor. Although there were concerns Mr Woods may have been assaulted, there was no evidence of significant injuries which could have played a part in his death.

Mr Justice Hart referred to the evidence of a number of witnesses and said, "…when looked at in their entirety their cumulative effect lends credence to Porter's actions on this night being motivated by hostility and animosity towards Mr Woods, and not just, as (the defence] put it, a drunken enterprise and jape that went too far".

The judge noted that several members of Mr Woods' family, and his former wife, had been significantly affected by these events. He stated, "Some have had to receive medication; others have tried to cope with their loss as best they can".

While Porter's substantial criminal record for petty offences was not found to be an aggravating factor, the judge found he could not claim the credit that would be given for a clear record. Mr Justice Hart held the evidence of Porter's previous animosity towards Mr Woods was an aggravating factor. The only mitigating factor was that he pleaded guilty before the trial was due to start (although the credit for this would be reduced due to the lateness of the plea).

Porter's pre-sentence report revealed he was a heavy drinker and that he had breached the no-alcohol conditions of his bail on several occasions. The judge considered these breaches, in particular the further breach while awaiting sentence, showed Porter was unwilling to make the effort to control his drinking. Mr Justice Hart considered Porter's further breach of bail conditions while awaiting sentence was a material change in circumstances and concluded that a custody probation order was no longer appropriate.

Regan had also been drinking at the time of the offence and it appeared he was severely addicted to Butane gas. His pre-sentence report concluded his criminal record showed he was at a high risk of re-offending. Although the judge felt, in some respects, Regan was less culpable than Porter he did not make any distinction between them in terms of their respective culpability as he felt Regan should have done more as the driver of the car to prevent Mr Woods from being abandoned in the first place.

The judge sentenced Porter to 3 years imprisonment. The judge sentenced Regan to 18 months imprisonment to be followed by 18 months probation (subject to the conditions recommended in the pre-sentence report). The judge noted Regan's sentence would otherwise have been one of 3 years imprisonment.