Man jailed after murdering love rival and dumping physique in wheelie bin in lake

A person who murdered a love rival earlier than disposing of his physique in a wheelie bin dumped in a lake has been jailed for a minimum of 16 years.

Father-of-four Pat McCormick, 55, was lured to his loss of life, the place he thought he was going to satisfy 30-year-old David Gill’s fiancee Lesley Ann Dodds, 25, with whom the sufferer had a quick relationship.

Messages despatched from Dodds’ Facebook account inspired Mr McCormick to satisfy her at her flat in Comber, County Down, on the night of 30 May 2019.

But Gill was mendacity in wait and attacked Mr McCormick, who suffered 24 rib fractures and was left to die.

Gill returned the next day and put the sufferer’s physique in a stolen black wheelie bin, which was finally recovered six weeks later in a fishing lake in Ballygowan, Co Down, by police divers.

The bin had been secured with straps and encumbered with concrete blocks, so it had sunk to the underside.

Mr Justice Scoffield sentenced Gill, of no fastened tackle, to a life sentence, with a minimal time period of 16 years at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.

Dodds, from Queen Victoria Gardens, in Belfast, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years after admitting manslaughter, with half to be served in custody.

The decide referred to sufferer influence statements supplied to the court docket by Mr McCormick’s household, together with his kids, the youngest of whom had been aged 14 and 12 on the time of his homicide, as “heartbreaking”.

“These statements paint a picture of Mr McCormick as a man who was devoted to his family – friendly, thoughtful, gentle and caring,” he stated.

“Mr McCormick was subjected to a brutal and sustained assault which was intended to and did cause him really serious harm to such an extent that he was left fighting for his life.”

Turning to Dodds, the decide stated: “I have no doubt whatsoever that Dodds played her part in luring Mr McCormick to her flat knowing that he would come to harm there.”

Three different males who had admitted withholding data in relation to Mr McCormick’s killing had been additionally sentenced.

William Gill, 43, from Terrace View in Waringstown, Andrew Leslie, 24, from Mourne Crescent in Moneyrea, and Jonathon Richard Leslie Montgomery, 24, from Castle Espie Road in Comber, had been all given suspended sentences.

Speaking after sentencing, PSNI Detective Inspector Jennifer Rea stated the household of Mr McCormick had been put by means of a “torturous and prolonged nightmare”.

She added: “Of course, their sadness doesn’t end today. It’s over four years on now and their heartache understandably remains.”

Ms Rea continued: “David Gill and Lesley Ann Dodds had initially denied any involvement in Pat’s disappearance and murder.

“The actuality is that each performed an element in luring Pat to the house of Lesley Ann Dodds.

“However, instead of meeting Ms Dodds as expected, David Gill was lying in wait to carry out this brutal attack.

“Today, due to our devoted group and dealing in partnership with our colleagues within the Public Prosecution Service, the defendants have been held accountable for his or her actions. Actions that had been deliberate, cowardly and irreversible.

“My thoughts are first and foremost with Pat’s family and loved ones.”