Sentencing of Jersey nurse's killer deferred

The jailing of a Northern Ireland teenager for the brutal murder of a nurse on Jersey was yesterday delayed for over three months…

The jailing of a Northern Ireland teenager for the brutal murder of a nurse on Jersey was yesterday delayed for over three months.

Paul Greenan (19) was told he will be sentenced in October. He was convicted in May of the murder of Tracey Burns (35) just yards from her home in St Helier.

Greenan, from Belfast, tried and failed to rape Ms Burns before kicking, punching and repeatedly stamping on her head in March last year.

Jersey's Royal Court will impose a minimum jail term on the killer when he is sentenced on October 7th.

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New laws agreed by the states last month which allow the courts to recommend the imposition of a minimum jail term on someone sentenced to life imprisonment will apply in his case.

Crown advocate Cyril Whelan said that, as the new sentencing regime is to be in place soon, it was considered appropriate to defer sentencing. This was agreed by Greenan's lawyer, Julian Gollop.

Greenan had admitted killing Ms Burns but had denied murder.

His defence team had argued he should be convicted of manslaughter. They claimed that, as well as being an extreme psychopath, Greenan was suffering from borderline antisocial personality disorders.

But on the trial's fifth day, the jury convicted him of murder.