Lee Canavan jailed for life for role in 'Daithi Douglas' murder

The Special Criminal Court has sentenced Dublin man Lee Canavan to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of David Douglas, a fifty-five-year-old who was shot at a city-centre shoe shop in Dublin's Liberties on July 1st, 2016. The three-judge court found Canavan guilty of participating in a joint enterprise with shared intention to murder Mr Douglas in what it described as a meticulously planned execution. However, the court was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Canavan was the gunman, citing insufficient forensic and identification evidence. Canavan, aged thirty-two and formerly of Rathfarnham, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was also convicted of criminal damage to a stolen vehicle used in an attempt to destroy evidence three days after the murder, receiving a concurrent five-year sentence. Canavan is the fourth person to be convicted in connection with the killing. His conviction follows those of Frederick Thompson, jailed for life in 2018, Nathan Foley, sentenced to six years in 2019, and Gareth Brophy, imprisoned for ten years in 2020.