Man to serve 20 years for ‘brutal and savage’ murder of Pat Ward

A CLOGHER man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the brutal murder of Pat Ward in the town more than four years ago.

Niall Cox (28), of McCrea Park, was told by Judge Stephen Fowler that he had carried out a ‘brutal and savage attack’ on Mr Ward, who died after being dragged almost naked in an alleyway in the town in February 2019.

Karen Marie McDonald (37), also of McCrea Park, was sentenced to ten years for the manslaughter of Mr Ward. She will have to spend five years of that term in prison and the other five on licence.

More than two dozen members of the family of the father-of-four, Mr Ward, packed into the public gallery at Dungannon Crown Court for the sentencing. They later wore t-shirts specially designed to commemorate him.

In his sentencing remarks, which lasted more than 45 minutes, Judge Fowler, said all he hoped for was that the sentence he imposed would in time bring some closure to the Ward family.

Addressing Cox first, Judge Fowler said that Cox had caused Mr Ward numerous and severe injuries. He said that he had been beaten, kicked and stabbed, before being dragged into an alleyway.

Mr Ward, the court was told, had suffered 43 injuries, including bleeding on the brain, after being struck by a heavy and blunt weapon. He said that it was reasonable that Mr Ward was still alive when he was dragged into the alleyway, where he had been ‘left to die’.

“This was an act of gratituitous violence. It was a brutal and savage attack,” the Judge told the court.”The viciousness of the attack satisfies me that it was the intention to kill.”

Judge Fowler said there was evidence that Mr Ward was subjected to ‘humiliating and degrading treatment’ during the brutal and sustained attack.

He said that the attack was a ‘spontaneous burst’ of violence rather than being premediated.

“Pat Ward was clinging to life when he was stripped and dragged into the alleyway,” the Judge told Cox.

He said that, following the attack, Cox had made attempts to clean up the scene by attempting to destroy evidence, clean blood, remove clothing and other items from the house.

Sentencing McDonald to ten years for manslaughter, Judge Fowler said that, while he could not be satisfied that she was not involved in the assault on Mr Ward, it was to her shame that she did nothing to help him.

He added that, following the attack, she had assaulted him by lifting his legs and had told a ‘pathetic lie’ to distance herself from the enormity of what had happened.

Judge Fowler said that McDonald would have known that Mr Ward had been viciously beaten and had dragged him outside. He said that she was ‘at the very least’ an observer of the prolonged and vicious attack and had an opportunity to phone either the ambulance or the police and did not do so.

He also said that McDonald had been involved in the clean-up and concealment of evidence, and that when police called later in the morning, her hands were wet and there was a mop-brush in the house.