Publication date:
Catherine Kierans, Senior Public Prosecutor for the Public Prosecution Service, said: “This was a brutal and senseless murder. Daniel Carroll met Brian Phelan on a country road in Co Armagh on 26 July 2018 apparently to buy quad bikes. But instead he attacked him with a knife, stabbing him and leaving him to bleed to death in a nearby garden.
“He refused to answer the police’s questions for many months during the investigation, before giving a story about three men on quad bikes attacking Brian and then fleeing on an inaccessible mountain path - a story the jury ultimately did not believe.
“We worked closely with the PSNI to build a strong prosecution case by drawing together the various strands of evidence. This included witness statements, forensic evidence, mobile phone records and CCTV footage that showed Carroll pursuing and attacking Brian. It also included calls that Brian made to his girlfriend and the emergency services as he lay dying.
“When the jury had heard all the evidence, they found 30 year old Carroll guilty of murder.
“Brian’s murder has left his loved ones devastated and his two children without their father. Although we know that no criminal justice outcome will bring him back, we hope the conclusion of this case brings some comfort to them.”
ENDS