TREVOR NOONE HAS been sentenced to 13 years in prison for his part in the brutal slaying of teenager Daniel McAnaspie.
Noone, aged 29, with an address in the Blanchardstown area of Dublin, pleaded guilty to Daniel’s manslaughter in February.
The 17-year-old’s decomposed body was found in a drainage ditch in County Meath, almost three months after he was stabbed to death on February 26, 2010 at Tolka Valley Park.
Following the sentence today members of Daniel’s family clashed with Noone’s family and had to be separated by gardaí.
Manslaughter
Passing sentence Justice Patrick McCarthy said that the circumstances of Daniel’s death put Noone’s actions in the most serious category of assault to manslaughter cases.
He said the events were of “quite a horrific nature” and that Daniel did “nothing whatsoever” to deserve what happened to him.
Justice McCarthy said Daniel did not have an easy life – he was an orphan at the time of his death and was in the care of the HSE.
On the night he died his carers dropped him off in Finglas where he met some friends and then traveled to Blanchardstown where he met Trevor Noone and Richard Dekker.
Dekker was convicted of Daniel’s murder in a trial that ended in March.
The evidence in the trial showed that in the early hours Noone and Dekker lured Daniel to a secluded area in Tolka Valley Park on the pretence that they were going to fight some “lads from Corduff”.
Stabbed with garden shears
Instead, Daniel was stabbed multiple times with a garden shears.
Justice McCarthy said simply mentioning the weapon shows how grave the offence was.
He also noted that Noone told gardaí that he knew Dekker was carrying a garden shears and that he intended to give Daniel “a few digs”.
“That is why this must be at the top end of the range for offences of this nature,” he said.
Outlining Noone’s circumstances, he said he had been unemployed all his life and has a modest sense of a moral compass.
Reading from a psychological report he noted that Noone has a schizoid personality, cognitive difficulties and an emotional disconnection from the social world around him.
Noting his history of offending, including firearms and drugs offences, he said Noone shows “scant respect for others in society”.
Applause in the court
Given all of that, he said the appropriate sentence would be 18 to 20 years, but taking into account his guilty plea and signs of remorse, he reduced it to 13 years. His sentence will be backdated for time already served.
Dressed in a white Nike t-shirt, blue jeans and purple runners, Noone was led away to the sound of Daniel’s family applauding. Outside there was a brief melee between Daniel’s family and members of Noone’s family.
As they emerged onto Parkgate Street Daniel’s sisters held a large poster in remembrance of their brother. His sister Nikita said Daniel was a “lovely person” and described Noone and Dekker as “scumbags”.
Detective Superintendent Colm Fox, who lead the investigation, said:
While today’s events will not bring Daniel back, it brings some closure to the family knowing the perpetrators of this shocking act of violence have been dealt with by the courts.
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