The man who murdered Kilkenny-born John Mackey (87) in London this summer has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the “voracious attack on a frail man”.
Peter Augustine (59) will serve 23 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Judge Sarah Whitehouse said today in the Old Bailey that he may be released “when he is deemed to no longer pose a risk of causing harm to others”.
“That day may never come,” she said.
Speaking after the sentencing this morning, Mr Mackey’s eldest niece, Patricia Schan, said he was “the perfect uncle” who always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.
READ MORE
A “funny, charming and mysterious” man, he never married and had no children.
Ms Schan said her uncle was “very interested in the lives” of his 22 nieces and nephews and “was never happier than when he was with his brothers and sisters”.
One of 11 siblings, he is now survived by four. Originally from Callan, Co Kilkenny, Mr Mackey served as a postman for a period in his hometown before moving to London in the mid-1950s to work.
His eldest niece described him as “a proud Irishman who, like many of his generation, came to London”. He lived in Manor House, near Finsbury Park in north London, “for 70 years without incident”, she said.
John Mackey murder: How an Irish pensioner was killed for his groceries
“He was a well-known and popular member of his community, and was fondly remembered back home,” Ms Schan said, referring to the large turnout at his funeral in late June.
Augustine attacked Mr Mackey in a secluded alleyway while the Irishman was walking home from buying groceries and a takeaway dinner of sausage and chips. When he couldn’t easily steal the bag of food, Augustine proceeded to beat, punch and stomp on Mr Mackey.
Augustine, a London native, has previous violent convictions and was homeless at the time of the attack. He told the jury that he was so hungry that he targeted Mr Mackey to steal his food. He admitted to being guilty of the robbery but not the attack and eventual death of Mr Mackey.
The attack left Mr Mackey with injuries likened to a “serious road traffic accident” or “falling from a height of over one storey”, the prosecuting barrister, Jane Bickerstaff, told the jury two weeks ago. Mr Mackey died from his injuries in hospital two days later.
In her sentencing today, judge Whitehouse said “I have no doubt that if the defendant was genuinely starving, this kind gentleman would have shared his food with him.”
Augustine was not present in court this morning, and was often “insulting, aggressive and abusive” to people in court, particularly Ms Bickerstaff, throughout the trial, the judge said.
His behaviour throughout the trial showed he was “a man incapable of controlling his anger,” she said.
Ms Schan, in her victim-impact statement, said Augustine showed “complete disdain, disrespect and disregard” for the wider Mackey family.
His “erratic and intimidating behaviour” caused “huge distress” for the many members of Mr Mackey’s family who attended the trial, because they “didn’t know what we would face on a daily basis”, Ms Schan said.
Concluding her sentencing, judge Whitehouse said she “would like to pay tribute and thank the family” for their “quiet dignity throughout this ordeal”.
