Man jailed for manslaughter of friend in Portrush

A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to a minimum of eight years for the manslaughter of his friend in County Antrim.

Last week Jason Murray, with an address at HMP Maghaberry, admitted to unlawfully killing 46-year-old Paul Rowlands in the Bath Terrace area of Portrush on 18 July 2022.

The court heard that after Murray attacked Mr Rowlands, he walked to a nearby bar and said: "I kill people now, I'm a hitman."

Mr Justice O'Hara said the family of Mr Rowlands were "struggling to cope" after his death. He said that "for all of them life has changed, for all of them life is harder, for all of them life will never be the same again".

"Each family member struggles in his or her own way to cope with the loss of Paul Rowlands, with regular thoughts of going to contact him to tell him about small things being brought to a sudden halt when they remember that he is gone," he said.

The judge told the court that Murray "is and was an addict and his ability to exercise self-control was impaired".

A parole officer had concluded that "violence was somewhat embedded in Mr Murray" and he posed "a significant risk to the public", the judge added.

Mr Justice O'Hara said this was a "reminder yet again of what happens when people are addicted to drink and drugs and refuse help".

He said that after the fatal attack, Murray "left the scene and left Mr Rowlands dying or dead, showing an indifference to his fate".

Sentencing Murray to a minimum of eight years in jail, Judge O'Hara said "it'll be up to parole board to decide if after eight years he is fit to be released".

"If they decide he isn't fit to be released, he'll remain in prison."

Mr Rowlands was originally from Cambridge, England, but he and Murray were homeless and living in tents on East Strand, in Portrush, at the time.

Murray's plea to manslaughter was accepted on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to mental abnormality.

At a previous hearing the court was told at 02:15 BST on 18 July 2022, the ambulance service received a report that a man was lying on the ground at Bath Terrace.

When emergency services arrived at the scene, Mr Rowlands was found lying on his back between two cars with a puddle of blood by his head.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination concluded Mr Rowlands had suffered bleeding to the brain as a result of blunt trauma to his head and neck which caused his death and he had considerable levels of alcohol in his system.

Speaking outside court, Mr Rowlands daughter, Leanne Rowlands said "dad was at the heart of our family".

"He was a brother, father, son. He was loved by us all."

She said her father's death was "cruel and untimely" and had "turned our life upside down".

She said "he'll never have the joy of knowing his grandkids".

"He was quiet to the outside world," she said.

"He loved Doctor Who and Man United. He loved us, his nieces and nephews too.

"The last three years have been so hard."

In a statement following Murray's sentencing on Tuesday, Det Insp Claire McGarvey described Mr Rowlands as a "much-loved father of five".

She said police are "grateful" to witnesses who "came forward to support our investigation".

She added: "This was the most senseless and tragic loss of a man's life, in an attack fuelled by alcohol.

"Here, a verbal altercation followed by physical blows has had the most devastating and irreversible of consequences."

The court previously heard that when Murray was arrested by police on 18 July he admitted he had been with Mr Rowlands on 17 July and had been drinking, adding that the pair were having issues.

Barrister Sam Magee KC, said Murray told police there had been a fight, that Mr Rowlands had started and involved both men slapping each other.

Murray told police he regarded the fight as a "tiff", the court was told.

Mr Magee said Mr Rowlands had travelled from England a month before his death and was unemployed with a history of alcohol and drug misuse.

The court was told that Mr Rowlands and Murray had become friends as both were homeless and living in tents and spent their days "drinking, fishing and taking drugs".

Mr Magee told the court: "The defendant left the scene, leaving the deceased dying or dead, showing indifference to the fate of the deceased and continuing to drink."

Defence barrister Gavan Duffy KC told the court there was "no question" that Murray was "very, very heavily intoxicated" when he arrived at a nearby bar after the fight.

The defence said Murray "should have remained there and he should have alerted attention to what had occurred and remained to accept responsibility".

The court was told Murray experienced a "brutal upbringing" and had a history of mental health issues, including Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).