Man with knife crime convictions who killed 'intruder' outside home is jailed

Alison O’Riordan

A man with previous convictions for knife crime who killed an "intruder" outside his home after he stole from the defendant's unlocked van in the early hours of the morning has been jailed for nine years.

Sentencing 38-year-old Patrick Murphy at the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Judge Kerida Naidoo said the defendant had expressed his remorse through his counsel and in writing.

However, the judge said this was difficult to reconcile with leaving the victim, Jordan Ronan, dead on a public road and failing to call an ambulance.

"But I do accept he regrets his actions," added the judge.

The judge said there was victim impact evidence that Mr Ronan was "an exceptionally likeable" and well-loved member of a close family.

He said one of the tragic circumstances of the case is that at the time of the victim's death, he and his partner were expecting a baby, who will now never know his father.

The judge said the introduction of a knife was an aggravating factor, and he didn't accept a defence submission that this was not the case.

Following the sentence, there was a commotion when a woman in the body of the court called Murphy "a little f**king scumbag" and shouted out: "10 years, what justice is that?"

Victim's family

Speaking outside the Criminal Courts of Justice building, the victim's father, Stephen Packenham, made a statement on behalf of the Ronan-Packenham family, saying: "We won't accept the jury's verdict, the evidence was overwhelming.

"A coward of previous convictions for knife crime got away with killing our son. We think the system is flawed, the footage shown to us couldn't have been any clearer, and it's going to stick with us forever.

"We think the jury got this wrong. The coward watched Jordan collapse on the road after stabbing him from behind. He then cowardly ran into his home and didn't call an ambulance.

The coward showed no remorse for his actions".

"Jordan never got the chance to experience adulthood. He never got a chance to be a father to his baby girl. He was so excited for his future with his partner and his baby. It was taken from him.

"His memory will live on forever, and he will always be with us. Jordan is more of a man then that coward ever will be. Jordan will never be forgotte,n and we will live our lives with the love, strength and compassion he showed us each day."

Father-of-four Murphy admitted stabbing 20-year-old Jordan Ronan, causing his death on 26th July 2024, but maintained he was defending his family and property.

Previous convictions

Murphy has 31 previous convictions, including those for the possession of “knives and other articles”, possession of drugs for sale or supply, assault causing harm, and ten convictions for traffic offences.

The court heard how Murphy's dogs alerted him to the presence of Ronan in his front driveway after 3am, with the deceased observed on CCTV getting in and out of the defendant's newly-bought van.

Murphy then rushed barefoot out of his home into the street armed with a kitchen knife – telling gardaí in a statement he stabbed the person in the front seat of his partner's car and said: “Come on, get the f**k out of here.”

Doorbell camera footage which captured the fatal encounter recorded Murphy telling his partner in the aftermath that the deceased was “breaking into our car”.

The court was told Murphy could be heard to say: “I’ve stabbed him to bits,” on the footage, which was recovered by gardaí from his partner’s phone after Murphy removed the camera from his door and hid it in a settee.

Last December, a jury at the Central Criminal Court found Murphy, of Drumcairn Parade, Tallaght, not guilty of murder, but returned a unanimous verdict of manslaughter, in line with his plea before the trial commenced.

In February at Murphy's sentence hearing, the court was told that the defendant is now on 23-hour lock up for his own protection, after an alleged “punishment” attack in jail left him with facial wounds requiring two dozen stitches.

Before the sentence was handed down on Monday, Patricia McLaughlin, prosecuting, told the judge that Murphy has been in protective custody since December 11th last, but that this was on his own request.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Naidoo said Mr Ronan had gone into a number of gardens that night and attempted to open several car doors. He said the victim's actions were captured on a Ring Doorbell camera when he entered the driveway of Murphy's home.

The judge said the defendant's van was parked in his driveway, and a BMW belonging to his wife was on the public road outside Murphy's house. He said Mr Ronan had gotten into the van and the BMW, but no damage was done to the vehicles.

CCTV footage

The judge said CCTV footage showed Murphy emerging from his house, and there was uncontested evidence of him immediately stabbing Mr Ronan into the chest with a knife.

He said the stab wound to the right side of the chest was 18cm deep and that moderate force was required to inflict the injury. He said the stab wound - which penetrated the heart - would have caused immediate cardiac arrest.

The judge said Ronan could be seen running away from the defendant's home and colliding with a lamppost before falling to the ground.

He said footage captured Murphy returning to his home with the knife, noting that the defendant had not called gardai to assist the victim.

Instead, the judge said, Murphy had immediately attempted to remove the doorbell camera, which was later found hidden inside the house.

The judge said a 'Revolut' card in the defendant's name was removed from Mr Ronan's person. When gardaí called to Murphy's home, Naidoo said the defendant was nervous and seemed to have taken a shower.

"He confirmed the Revolut card was in his van but made no mention of any interaction with Mr Ronan".

The judge said Murphy later told gardaí that he thought someone was trying to steal the car or his van. "He said he believed he had to do something and grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the person in the driver's seat once in the chest".

The judge set the headline sentence for Murphy at 14 years.

Having regard to the guilty plea to manslaughter, which was offered in advance of the trial, as well as other mitigating factors, the judge reduced the headline sentence from 14 years to ten.

Naidoo sentenced Murphy to 10 years in prison but said he would suspend the last year for two years. The sentence was backdated to when he went into custody on July 26, 2024.

He extended his "very significant sympathy" to Mr Ronan's family and friends.