Axe murderer: my 25-year minimum sentence is too long

Tuesday 28 July 2015

The 25-year minimum sentence given to Darren McCormick is unfair because the Royal Court put too much weight on a previous conviction, his lawyer has told the Court of Appeal.

McCormick has been in the Court of Appeal, arguing that his life sentence with a minimum sentence of 25 years is too high.

He was jailed in January for the murder of Colin Chevalier after the court heard that he had attacked him with an axe while he was sleeping, before cutting one of his ears.

His lawyer, Advocate Julian Gollop, says that a previous conviction for grave and criminal assault – in which he attacked a sleeping man with a broken bottle – was given too much weight by the court.

That previous conviction was the justification for the court deciding on a 30-year starting point, rather than 15 years, which is mandatory in murder cases.

“We accept that the 2003 offence was violent so it does have some relevance but it was not in the same category or similarity to justify an uplift of 15 years,” said Advocate Gollop.

“It was not aggravating enough.”

When Darren McCormick was arrested after the killing of 46-year-old Colin Chevalier, he was found to be carrying his victim's right ear.

Mr Chevalier’s body was found in his flat in Duhamel Place on 5 April 2014.

Advocate Gollop said he would also question the reasons provided for the Royal Court in setting the minimum term.

The attack took place in the early evening of 5 April last year at Mr Chevalier’s cottage in Duhamel Place. McCormick had arrived there – in the middle of what his lawyer called "a five-day bender" – and took Ethylphenidate, or “crystals”, while two other men were at the flat.

A toxicology report later showed that he was under the influence of alcohol and a mix of illegal and prescribed drugs.

McCormick’s lawyer, Advocate Gollop, is the lawyer who defended Victoria Crescent killer Damian Rzeszowski in 2012.

Crown Advocate Howard Sharp is appearing for the Attorney General in the case – he led the original prosecution earlier this year as Solicitor General, but has since set up in private practice.

The case is being heard by Court of Appeal judges James McNeill QC, Nigel Pleming QC and David Perry QC.