Newspaper fined €75k over pre-trial coverage of serial killer's case

The Sunday World has been fined €75,000 for contempt of court following pre-trial coverage of a serial killer's case. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed the penalty at the Central Criminal Court on 15 February 2016 after the newspaper published articles describing the accused as a "psycho" and "Pulp Fiction-style killer" before his trial for a double murder in Grangegorman, Dublin. The articles, which appeared in May 2010, also referenced a confession the accused had subsequently retracted. The court heard that the newspaper published the material after charges were brought but before trial commenced. The judge noted the contempt was extremely serious and had considered a six-figure fine. He reduced the penalty to €75,000 having regard to the newspaper's cooperation with proceedings and the editor's previously unblemished record. The accused was convicted in April 2015 of the Grangegorman murders, which occurred in Roscommon in 1997. The newspaper has one month to pay the fine.