Three men jailed for 20 years for murder of Ian Ogle

By Cate McCurry (PA)

Three men have been jailed for 20 years each for the murder of Ian Ogle in Belfast.

Two other men have been sentenced to 17-and-a-half years in prison for their role in the murder of the Belfast man.

Glenn Rainey, 38, from Ballyhalbert Caravan Park; Walter Ervine, 43, from Litchfield Street in Belfast; and Robert Spiers, 41, from Millars Park in Dundonald; were handed prison sentences of 20 years each.

Jonathan Brown, 39, from Whinney Hill in Dundonald; and Mark Sewell, 45, of Glenmount Drive in Newtownabbey; who pleaded guilty to the murder, were sentenced to 17-and-a-half years.

Mr Ogle was 45 when he was beaten and stabbed 11 times just yards from his Cluan Place home in the east of the city in January 2019.

Three others who admitted assisting those involved in the murder, and one man who pleaded guilty to withholding information, were given suspended sentences.

Christopher Haire, 55, from Killagan Bend in Belfast; 42-year-old Jill Morrison from Wolff Close in Belfast; and 37-year-old Thomas McCartney, also from Wolff Close; all admitted a charge of assisting offenders, while Reece Kirkwood, 27, from Belvoir Street in Belfast, pleaded guilty to withholding information.

Haire was handed a two-year prison sentence which has been suspended for three years.

Morrison, who is married to Brown, was handed an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for three years.

McCartney was sentenced to 12 months, suspended for three years, while Kirkwood was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for three years.

Mr Justice David McFarland told Belfast Crown Court that “significant aggravating factors” applied in the case.

Justice McFarland said the factors include that it was a pre-planned murder; that it was a revenge vigilante attack which involved a group of five masked men and it was perpetrated against a single unarmed man, and it was a sustained attack with the use of weapons.

He said it was further aggravated by the murder taking place on a public street; that threats were made to a bystander that he remained silent about the incident; that there was a successful effort to dispose of incriminating evidence, such as clothing and mobile phones; that the underlying purpose of the attack was to intimidate a group of people and to force them to leave the area.

“I am proposing to treat each of the five in the same way as I am satisfied that this was a cohesive unit with a commonality of purpose,” he told the court.

“Although Spiers had armed himself with a knife without the knowledge of the others, and intended to kill Ian Ogle, given the overall conduct of the other four, I do not consider that lesser intention on their part is significant and could be regarded as a mitigating factor.”

A post-mortem examination report found that Mr Ogle had been stabbed 11 times, and the cause of death was a stab wound to the chest.

He also suffered a fractured skull, and injuries to his face, head and other parts of the body caused by punches or kicks. The attack lasted for about 30 seconds.

On the evening Mr Ogle was attacked, he and his son had been involved in an assault on another man, Neil Ogle, on the Beersbridge Road.

The judge said this had been a precipitating factor in the fatal attack later that night.

A local pastor, Kevin Sambrook, who had been speaking with Mr Ogle before the attack and gave evidence during the trial, described the group acting “like a pack of hyenas”, the judge previously said.

Justice McFarland said that Mr Ogle had been expecting the confrontation, having “issued the invitation”, although he may not have expected to fight five men on his own.

“He made no attempt to retreat or seek refuge in his home,” Justice McFarland added.

“The attack was captured on CCTV. Although the images are poor, they do show a vicious attack by the five men, each engaged fully in the attack. Ian Ogle was quickly overpowered and brought to the ground, where he was struck again and again.”

The court was told that Morrison assisted in the offence by packing a bag for Brown, then moving a car used following the attack, and handing the car keys to McCartney.

The court was told that McCartney assisted by receiving and retaining the car keys.

The court was further told that although the pair assisted Brown at the time, none of their acts impeded the police investigation into the murder.

Haire later assisted by picking Brown up and driving him to the house of his co-accused, Sewell, on the night of the murder.

Justice McFarland said he was satisfied that Kirkwood had acquired information about the killing, both in its planning stage and in its aftermath, and that he failed to inform the police.

“This was a pre-planned attack, reacting rapidly to the assault on Neil Ogle. That reflected an element of organisation which enabled the group to assemble rapidly.

“Some of the group had pre-armed themselves, and those weapons were used, as well as shod feet.

“The attack was perpetrated on the public street in the presence of two bystanders, one of whom was threatened to maintain a silence.

“It was a vigilante attack aimed at punishing Ian Ogle, to intimidate him, his immediate family and the wider community that associated with him.”

Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin said: “First and foremost, my thoughts today are with the family of Ian Ogle who are still very much coming to terms with the tragic loss of their beloved husband and father.

“This was a senseless, brutal crime by a group of people who fractured Ian’s skull and stabbed him 11 times in the back before fleeing and leaving him to die on the street.

“It is distressing to think that such a large group of people could have been complicit in such an orchestrated, targeted crime.

“This has been widely condemned by the local community, who remain disgusted by the actions of these individuals and I know that the Ogle family have been deeply appreciative of the ongoing support they have felt from people in their local area.

“Today, thanks to our dedicated investigation team and working in partnership with colleagues in the Public Prosecution Service, these defendants have been held accountable for their actions that night.

“Today’s sentences signify the end of the judicial process, however, I am very mindful that Ian’s family live with the pain and anguish of what happened to him every single day. My thoughts remain firmly with them.”

Ian Ogle (Alan Lewis - Photopress Belfast/Photopress Belfast)