Extra two years for taxi driver killing

Court of Criminal Appeal reject’s original sentence as too lenient

Last year when the Central Criminal Court sentenced Lindsay Fahy to seven years - with three suspended – for the vicious killing of taxi driver Mark Smyth in March 2008, local people were shocked at the leniency of the sentence.

Mr. Smyth’s family also expressed their outrage at the sentence and subsequently welcomed the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions to lodge an appeal with the Court of Criminal Appeal.

That court has recently adjudicated on the matter and has set aside the original sentence on the grounds that the “totality” of the term imposed was unduly lenient.

The three judge court with Justice Joseph Finnegan alongside Justice Daniel Herbert and Justice Peter Charleton held that a term of seven years with one year suspended, was “a more appropriate” sentence in the circumstances.

Lindsey Fahy (aged 26) was jailed for seven years with three suspended after she was found guilty, before the Central Criminal Court, of the manslaughter of taxi driver Mark Smyth on 18th March 2008.

Fahy with an address in Linnetsfield Square, Clonee but originally from the Fortlawn area, inflicted a single knife wound to Mr. Smyth who subsequently suffered over 70 injuries in a “vicious attack”, witnessed by his partner and baby son.

The court heard that on the day of the attack Mr. Smyth, who was accompanied in his cab by his partner and their young son, picked up Fahy and Byrne who asked to be driven to Fortlawn where Fahy's family lived. Both were armed with identical kitchen knives.

When Mr. Smyth stopped the taxi, Fahy “nicked” him in the neck with her knife while Byrne began stabbing him and continued to attack him after he got out of the car.

The court heard there was evidence put forward during Fahy’s trial that she struck Mr. Smyth with her stiletto heel as he lay on the ground as well as encouraging Byrne by shouting “kill him.”

Arguing that the original sentence was unduly lenient, Mr John Aylmer senior counsel for the DPP, said the original trial judge had failed to attach sufficient weight to the gravity of the offence and had made no reference in sentencing to the fact Ms Fahy had armed herself with a kitchen knife in a “premeditated” fashion.

However Fahy’s counsel Ms. Caroline Biggs urged the court to let the sentence stand and said it was accepted the injury inflicted by her client was not a fatal wound. She also pointed out that her client was suffering from drug addiction at the time of the offence.

The appeals court held that there had been an error in principle concerning the suspension of three years of the sentence as the “totality of the sentence” did not represent “the seriousness” of the offence. The court substituted the original sentence with a term of seven years with one year suspended.

Following the initial convictions last year local gardaí publicly thanked residents of the Fortlawn estate who gave evidence against Fahy and her co-accused Carlos Byrne, who received a life sentence for the murder.

Speaking to Community Voice after last year’s trial Det. Sgt Michael Kennedy, who lead the investigation into the murder, said “the whole community came out and supported the gardaí in this investigation. I think this shows the real power of a community when people come together to assist the gardaí,” he said.

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