Killer cocktail
Murderer took absinthe, vodka, Bacardi, beer, cider cannabis and diazepam, then killed his girlfriend and left her brother fighting for his life
A FATHER-of-two was jailed for life yesterday for murdering his 20-year-old girlfriend in a frenzied knife attack fuelled by a massive drink-and-drugs cocktail.
Kevin Prendergast (31) killed Joanne Mangan and left her brother Edmond fighting for his life after the attack. He said his regret was that he didn't kill himself after the stabbing.
The Central Criminal Court heard that Prendergast had consumed a cocktail of vodka, Bacardi, beer, cider, cannabis, diazepam and absinthe in the day leading up to the attack.
As Ms Mangan lay dying, her last words were to call out her boyfriend's name.
The court heard the stab injuries were such that they might have been inflicted by "a lunatic".
Prendergast's defence counsel, Brendan Nix, warned that the tragic case was "a salutary lesson" about the dangers of binge-drinking and alcohol-drug cocktails, including the re-emergent drink, absinthe.
Mr Nix warned that Ireland already has enough problems with binge-drinking and drug s without the added problem of absinthe, which became notorious in Europe in the 19th-century for driving addicts insane.
Prendergast, an unemployed father-of-two, pleaded guilty to the murder of Ms Mangan (20) and assault causing serious harm to her brother, Edmond (23).
Both offences occurred on October 16 last at Grange, Co Tipperary, six miles from Clonmel, after Prendergast had launched the attack with two kitchen knives following a row with Joanne in an upstairs bedroom.
Just minutes earlier, he had been enjoying a social drink with his girlfriend, her brother, Edmond, her sister, Geraldine, and her boyfriend, Graham.
Geraldine and Graham left the house to return to their Clonmel home -- but returned just minutes later, having forgotten a DVD, to be greeted by the sight of Joanne lying in a bloodstained heap on the roadway.
Knives
Prendergast was standing by the house holding two bloody kitchen knives.
Joanne died in the arms of her sister, Geraldine, en route to Clonmel Hospital, having been stabbed 14 times. A pathologist found almost all the wounds could have been fatal, with stab injuries to her heart, both lungs, her stomach, her liver and her aorta. Her brotherEdmond 'Eddie' Mangan -- who was sleeping in the sitting-room when the row with Prendergast erupted -- sustained nine major stab wounds.
Gda Sgt Padraig Walsh said that but for the skill of doctors at Cork University Hospital (CUH), he would have died.
In emotional victim impact statements read out to the court, Edmond Mangan and his sister, Christine, said their lives would never be the same again.
"The scars [I received] are a constant reminder to me of the night I lost my sister, Joanne, and the vicious unprovoked attack on me," Edmond explained in a letter read out by his sister.
"I now have to live with these wounds for the rest of my life," he said, pointing out that one scar runs almost the full length of his neck. "I did nothing to deserve this," he added.
Christine Mangan said her family were struggling to cope with the loss of Joanne.
"Our lives will never be the same; there is a pain and an emptiness that will never go away. Joanne was our youngest daughter, she is the second youngest of our eight children. From a child she was so full of fun, love and life. Joanne would brighten up any bad days we had in our lives. She had a great sense of humour and always brought a smile to our faces," Christine said.
Beautiful
"We still cannot believe we will never see or hear from her again and find it hard to accept our beautiful daughter and sister so full of life and love could be taken from us in such a brutal, violent and senseless way. Our last memory of Joanne is leaving her home in Newcastle and saying: "Bye Mammy and Daddy, love you."
The court heard that Prendergast, of Knockeen, Grange, Co Tipperary, was extremely possessive and jealous of Joanne, whom he intended to marry.
Mr Nix said his client had intended to kill himself after the attack -- and now regrets that he did not.
"He is now in a prison entirely of his own making. He is sorry he is not dead," Mr Nix added.
The inclusion of absinthe in the drink and drugs cocktail that night was a significant factor.
"It drives people mad," Mr Nix told the court.
Mr Justice Paul Caney imposed a mandatory life sentence on Prendergast for Joanne Mangan's murder and a concurrent 15-year prison sentence for the attack on Edmond Mangan.
- Ralph Riegel
