The distraught parents of a Limerick toddler, who died after an arson attack on her home, said yesterday they hoped the man convicted of her murder "rots in jail".
Jackie and Robert Ryan were speaking outside the Central Criminal Court in Limerick after 23-year-old Patrick Slattery was jailed for life for the murder of their four-year-old daughter, Katelyn.
"I hope he rots in jail," said Katelyn's heartbroken mother yesterday. She was wearing a locket containing a picture of her late daughter.
Those sentiments were echoed by her husband, Robert, who described Katelyn as a "little angel" and said life would never be the same again.
"Our lives are still not back together and never will be," he said.
Slattery, of Garryglass Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, pleaded guilty to the murder of Katelyn Ryan on April 8th, 2003.
She died at Crumlin Children's Hospital two days after a firebomb attack on her home at Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, in which she suffered horrific burns.
The court heard yesterday that when Ms Ryan woke up in the early hours of the morning the room was thick with smoke and her children were crying.
The mother of five jumped from a bedroom window with 16-month-old baby daughter, Leah, in her arms and suffered a serious back injury in the fall.
A check was made on all the children as soon as they evacuated the burning house but there was no sign of the little girl, the court was told.
She was later found lying unconscious on the ground in her parents' bedroom between the bed and a wardrobe and had suffered extensive burns.
She was rushed to Limerick Regional Hospital and later transferred to Crumlin Children's Hospital, where she died.
Det Garda Gerry O'Doherty gave evidence to the court that following his arrest traces of partially evaporated petrol were found on the accused man's clothing.
Initially Slattery had denied any involvement but later he admitted his role and made a statement to gardaí.
In the statement, he claimed that Darragh Ryan - the 14-year-old son of Jackie and Robert - had been terrorising his mother and younger brothers.
The windows in his mother's house had been smashed and Slattery had been beaten up in his own home by relatives of Darragh, the court heard.
Darragh had been "at everyone in the area" and the accused felt he could not tolerate any more abuse from the 14-year-old.
Evidence was heard that Slattery had been drinking in a house with friends and they were all talking about Darragh Ryan and "it all just built up.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone - I just wanted to scare him," he said.
He got a container filled with petrol which he had stored for burning rubbish and then he went to Ryan's house at Lenihan Avenue.
He poured the petrol in the letter-box and then lit it with his lighter, the court heard.
Slattery didn't stop to look at what he had done and he ran away.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone.
"My deepest sympathies are with that young girl.
"I just wanted to set the front door on fire and to frighten him," he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Ryan family in court, Mrs Nora Roche, Katelyn's grandmother, said that when the little girl died "a piece of each one of us was taken".
"We will never see our four-year-old grandchild again and there's a lot of birthday and Christmas celebrations still to come.
"The family has been torn asunder," said Mrs Roche.
Defence counsel Mr Brendan Nix SC told the court his client was too ashamed of what had happened to speak up for himself.
"He acknowledges that he is the only person responsible for the death of this child and he wants everyone to know that if he could turn back the clock then he would," said Mr Nix.
There was loud applause in the packed Limerick courtroom as Mr Justice Carney imposed a mandatory life sentence on the accused which was backdated to April 6th, 2003.