Man who was jailed for the murder of Cork woman whose body was found in a burning car dies in hospital 

A man in his sixties who was jailed for the murder of 72 year old Mary O’Keeffe whose body was found in a burning car in Doneraile, Co Cork in 2021 has died at a hospital in the city.

Michael Leonard passed away at the Mercy University Hospital in Cork on Tuesday. He had been diagnosed with a form of cancer.

Mr Leonard of Hillcrest, Glenosheen, Kilmallock, Co Limerick, was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2022. The then 63 year old had pleaded guilty to the murder of Mary O’Keeffe at a woodland in Doneraile on February 4, 2021.

The court heard that Leonard arranged to meet Ms O’Keeffe at the wooded area. 

However, within minutes of her arrival he threw two gallons of petrol into the car and set it on fire. A postmortem showed she was still alive when the fire started.

The mother of three lived in Dromahane near Mallow in Co Cork and worked as a cook. The alarm was raised on the afternoon of February 4, 2021 when a passer-by spotted a car on fire near the Coillte forest in Doneraile. Ms O’Keeffe was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott, in sentencing Mr Leonard to mandatory life imprisonment for murder, described his actions as being “horrific.” 

He added: “There has been a terrible loss inflicted on this family and I can only express my sincere condolences to them.” 

The victim’s granddaughter, Nicky O’Keeffe, told the court of her grandmother’s love of music and dancing, her generosity and her kindness.

She said: “Mary O’Keeffe will be forever in our hearts, she is deeply loved, sadly missed and will never be forgotten."We like to think she is happy, dancing in the sky. She was a positive, happy person who had the ability to make every situation better. Her smile and laugh will live in our hearts forever.”

An inquest in to the death of Ms O’Keeffe previously heard evidence from Det Sgt James O’Shea who said that the body of Ms O'Keeffe had to be identified using DNA because visual identification was not possible due to the burns.

Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a post-mortem at Cork City Morgue. She said that Ms O’Keeffe died from extensive severe third degree burns associated with the inhalation of carbon dioxide due a fire in car.

The prison service has confirmed the death of a person in custody. However, the person was not named. The next of kin has been notified.