Murderer Mark Whelan has died after falling ill in the showers of Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison.
Whelan, 48, who was only sentenced to life in prison last December, died in hospital after suddenly becoming ill in the prison’s showers yesterday.
It is believed the killer, who brutally stabbed his daughter’s partner to death while high on a cocktail of drugs, was rushed to hospital after he collapsed in the showers and was pronounced dead.
The Irish Prison Service immediately notified gardai though it is understood that no foul play is suspected.
A garda spokesperson last night confirmed that the force had been notified about the death of a male in his 40s at Mountjoy Prison.
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“Gardaí at Mountjoy were notified after a male inmate, 40s, was removed by ambulance from Mountjoy Prison this afternoon after becoming unwell,” they said.
“He was taken by ambulance to the Mater Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
“Gardaí are treating the death as unexplained at this time and the results of a post-mortem will determine the course of enquires. A report will be sent to the coroner.”
Whelan’s death comes just months after a jury unanimously found him guilty of murdering Noel Whelan (22) at his home in West Dublin on March 30, 2019.
Whelan, of Castlecurragh Heath, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, and who is the father of the late Noel Whelan’s partner, had pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Ms Justice Tara Burns said the case highlighted without doubt the “danger of drugs”, which had turned “a gentle giant into a demonic, murdering hulk”.
“The State services have not failed you, you have failed yourself,” she told him.
“Because of drugs you lost your wife and a happy home. Because of your continued use of drugs you deprived your daughter of a partner and your granddaughter of a father.”
His trial had heard he was high on drugs when he stabbed and slashed his victim 18 times, with one of the wounds severing the victim’s carotid artery and another penetrating his lungs.
Shannon Whelan told the sentencing hearing that her life had been “ruined” by a man she trusted with her life.
She said her partner Noel had “a big smile on his face” when he first saw scans of his baby daughter, but he will never get to hold her.
“He will never see his first child take her first steps or see the beautiful little girl she has become,” she added.
The court heard she suffers from panic attacks, has post traumatic stress disorder and no longer feels safe, “because someone I trusted with my life has taken my whole life away.”
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