‘I just couldn’t take any more’: Doctor jailed for life for beating ‘controlling’ mother to death with chisel

Murderer’s sister asks for mercy from judge and says she has ‘no anger’ for him

Declan O'Neill was given a life sentence at Belfast Crown Court after admitting to murdering his mother Anne (Google Streetview)

A doctor who beat his mother to death with a chisel told police he killed her because he could not take her “controlling and bullying” behaviour, a court has heard.

Declan O’Neill, 29, was given a life sentence in September after admitting to murdering his 51-year-old mother Anne on 21 October 2017.

However, Anne O’Neill’s mother and daughter have asked the court to show mercy on the son, with his lawyer describing how he was subjected to “relentless emotional violence by his mother” throughout his life.

When O’Neill admitted to the murder during his 14th interview, he broke down and told police: “I didn’t mean to, I just couldn’t take any more.”

Mr Justice Colton has said he will take time to reflect on the case before setting the minimum term O’Neill has to serve before being eligible for release.

Anne O’Neill was found in the garden of her parents’ home in Finaghy, Belfast, after neighbours were woken by the sound of the mother and son arguing between 6am and 7am.

The neighbours reported hearing a woman saying “leave me alone Declan” and “somebody help me” before screaming and crying.

When officers arrived at the scene, they said they found “copious amounts of blood” and Anne O’Neill lying face down at the bottom of some steps.

“She had been struck repeatedly on the head with a heavy blunt object and the back of her head had been pummelled against the edge of the tiles steps,” Professor Jack Crane, a pathologist, said.

“Her face had been thrust against a hard, uneven surface such as the concrete path or patio,”

At the defendant’s flat, police found various items stained with his mother’s blood, such as a rubber face mask, a metal chisel, shoes and gloves.

Greg Berry, O’Neill’s lawyer, said his client was “struggling to come to terms with the consequences of his actions”.

He added that the son and his sister grew up in a home which had no beds, bare walls and very little furniture, and suffered manipulation, intimidation and bullying from their mother.

The defendant’s sister said: “Declan has done wrong and he had no right to kill my mother, but I have no anger or resentment towards him.”

As family members watched, O’Neill reportedly shook and sobbed in the dock during the hearing at Belfast Crown Court.

He has been remanded back in custody and his minimum term will be set on 4 November.