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A teenager who stabbed his friend to death has been sentenced to life in prison with a ten-year review.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the murder of Glen Osborne at Ballybough House, Ballybough, Dublin, on April 15.
Judge Paul McDermott accepted that the young man’s remorse was genuine, but said he had armed himself with a knife and used it on another human being who was his friend and who he knew was unarmed.
The teenager was a friend of Glen Osborne and had gone to buy drugs but did not pay for them.
Later, drug dealers smashed the windows of Glen Osborne’s mother’s home and the 20-year-old blamed the 17-year-old for identifying his home on dealers and “giving him away.”
The teenager then made a Facebook call to Ms. Osborne and told her that Glen was “walking around” calling him “a rat” and that she would “wait and see what I’m going to do with him.”
He said he was going down “to fix all this.”
The teenager took a taxi to Ballybough House and brought a knife in a Penneys bag. Glen Osborne met him on the staircase and a fight started that spilled over into the parking lot.
The boy drew the knife after Glen Osborne took “the upper hand” and stabbed the 20-year-old once in the heart before fleeing. Glen Osborne was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The teenager introduced himself to gardaí shortly thereafter and admitted what he had done.
Subsequently, he wrote a letter of apology to the victim’s mother saying that, if he could, he would give his own life for her son’s.
Judge McDermott said today that the boy had shown genuine pain, regret and remorse for what he had done and was satisfied that this was sincere and genuine.
The boy pleaded guilty, which showed his willingness to shoulder his responsibilities, the judge added.
However, he also said that the teenager had armed himself with a knife and led him into a situation. He said the fact that he contemplated using it and used it on another human being who was unarmed, and his friend who didn’t know this was going to happen, were aggravating factors.
He sentenced the 17-year-old to life in prison with a review after 10 years in 2030.
On his 18th birthday, he said the teenager will be transferred to an adult prison and the judge ordered that relevant health professionals prepare reports before his transfer and every two years after his transfer to the adult prison.
The judge who reviews the case in 2030 will have access to those reports before deciding whether to extend the prison term.
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