Athlone woman sentenced to six years for manslaughter

An Athlone woman has been sentenced to six years with the final 18 months suspended for the manslaughter of an acquaintance she had been drinking with earlier that night.
Agnes McCarthy (57) of Meadowbrook, Athlone, had initially denied the charge but was convicted by a jury last April.
She had pleaded not guilty at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court sitting, in Tullamore, to the unlawful killing of Lillian Scanlon at the victim’s home in Valleycourt, Athlone between May 8 and 9, 2008.
The trial heard that the mother of three was found dead in a pool of blood.
Judge Tony Hunt said considering the level of force used by McCarthy the attack was at the lower end of the scale but said the crime was aggravated by the existence of “the amateur cover up”.
He sentenced McCarthy to six years in prison but suspended the final 18 months on strict conditions including that she liaise with the Probation Service for 12 months upon her release in order “to regulate or curb her own use of alcohol”.