Convicted killer threatened witness in case

Michael Kinsella, aged 24, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after admitting he intimidated a witness in a criminal investigation. Kinsella, formerly of addresses in Tallaght, Dublin and Ardkeen, Cavan, pleaded guilty to sending a threatening text message to a woman who had provided statements to gardaí investigating a murder inquiry in October 2011. The message contained references to violence and named a relative with whom the witness was residing. Detective Garda Brendan O'Hora gave evidence that the text would have been understood as a threat. Judge Terence O'Sullivan noted the seriousness with which he regarded witness intimidation and imposed the sentence to run concurrently with Kinsella's existing 15-year prison term for manslaughter.