Aaron Brady has been handed the mandatory life sentence for the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe.
The 29-year-old, from Crossmaglen, Co. Armagh, shot Detective Donohoe from close range during an armed robbery outside a credit union in Co. Louth in 2013.
Adrian Donohoe’s wife Caroline was the one who identified her husband’s body at Lordship CU in Co. Louth on the night of January 25th 2013.
In her victim impact statement today, she said it breaks her heart every time she passes the credit union.
She said their life together was just perfect until just “58 senseless seconds” changed everything forever.
Aaron Brady was the one who pulled the trigger from close range that night, and he’ll now have to serve a minimum of 40 years in prison for it.
He was also handed a 14-year concurrent sentence for the robbery of 7k from a credit union worker.
Before sentencing him, Mr J Michael White described Det. Donohoe as a “dedicated Garda” who was rooted in his community and committed to his vocation as a police officer.
He described Aaron Brady’s behaviour in the lead up to the robbery, and his nonchalant visit to his girlfriend after he killed Det. Donohoe as “difficult for the court to comprehend”.
