0:00

Have you ever felt like escaping to your

0:02

own desert island? Jane Gaskin did

0:05

exactly that, trading in the family home

0:07

to begin a new life in the

0:09

tropics. But she soon discovers

0:11

that Paradise has its secrets. I'm

0:14

Alice Levine, and this is The Price

0:16

of Paradise. The island dream

0:19

that ends in kidnap, corruption

0:21

and murder. Wish you were here?

0:24

Follow The Price of Paradise now, wherever

0:26

you listen to podcasts. You're

0:31

listening to the Men's Raya podcast, and

0:33

this is the story of Derek

0:35

Benson. Just

1:00

before 3am on Saturday,

1:02

May 13th, in the

1:05

year 2000, a call came in

1:07

to Dublin Fire Brigade, about

1:17

a fire at a unit in the

1:19

four-storey Sandy Hill Avenue apartment complex in

1:21

Ballymon, on the north side of Dublin

1:23

City. The alarm was

1:26

raised after Claire Keeley, a resident of

1:28

the building, heard screaming and noticed smoke

1:30

billowing from one of the second-storey flats.

1:33

Three fire engines were dispatched to

1:35

the scene along with two ambulances.

1:38

Upon arrival, firefighters found the

1:40

flash filled with thick smoke.

1:43

In the main bedroom, they discovered

1:45

the body of 33-year-old Derek Benson.

1:48

First responders initially assumed that he

1:50

had succumbed to injuries sustained in

1:52

the inferno. But as the

1:54

flames were subdued, it became clear that

1:56

Benson's death had nothing to do with

1:58

the fire. His body was

2:01

covered in blood and he had

2:03

clear signs of significant trauma, prompting

2:05

the fireman to summon Garde to the

2:07

scene. Benson was taken by

2:10

ambulance to the Matter Hospital, but

2:12

due to the extent of his injuries he

2:14

was pronounced dead on arrival. Derek

2:17

Benson was already known to Garde.

2:20

The father of one was a

2:22

small-time drug dealer with a reputation for

2:24

having a volatile nature and as the

2:27

brutality of his injuries became clear, officers

2:29

started to wonder if his death could

2:31

be somehow related to his criminal

2:33

activities. A full murder inquiry

2:36

was launched and within 24 hours a team of

2:38

50 officers were on the

2:40

hunt for Benson's killer. Officers

2:42

wasted no time canvassing his neighbors

2:44

for any information that could shed

2:47

more light on the events surrounding

2:49

his death. But as

2:51

the details of the savage killing began

2:53

to emerge, they found their investigation

2:55

hampered by swirling rumors. A

2:58

post-mortem was performed by state pathologist Dr.

3:00

Mary Cassidy, who found that Derek's body

3:03

was covered in knife wounds from head

3:05

to toe. One incision to

3:07

the neck was so deep that it

3:09

cut through to the cervical spine, almost

3:11

decapitating him. A number

3:14

of wounds in his trunk had originated

3:16

in the chest and gone the whole

3:18

way through his body, exiting out the

3:20

back. In total, Dr.

3:23

Cassidy counted 85 cutting

3:25

wounds and she ultimately concluded that

3:27

Derek Benson's cause of death was

3:29

due to multiple wounds from a

3:31

blade. The Irish media

3:33

was already in a heightened state at

3:35

the time as three young Irishmen had

3:37

been brutally killed in a similar fashion

3:39

in the Netherlands two weeks before and

3:42

many people were now wondering if the

3:44

attack on Derek Benson was some kind

3:46

of copycat killing to address

3:48

these concerns. A press conference was

3:50

called by Superintendent Albert Tracy, who

3:52

was leading the investigation. He assured

3:55

the gathered media that this was no

3:57

copycat killing and Benson's death bore no

4:00

resemblance to the three that had occurred

4:02

in the Hague. Superintendent

4:04

Tracey went on to appeal to the public

4:06

for help in solving the murder, asking

4:09

that anyone who may have seen anything suspicious

4:11

in the area around the time of the

4:13

fire to come forward. He

4:16

noted that they were still in

4:18

the very early stages of the

4:20

investigation and were not following a

4:22

definite line of inquiry. Despite Gardi

4:24

stressing that they could find no

4:26

connection between Benson's criminal activities and

4:28

his death, Irish media outlets continued

4:30

to run wild with rumour, comparing

4:32

Benson's death to the killings in

4:35

the Hague. Meanwhile, officers

4:37

from the Garda Ballistics section commenced

4:39

an examination of the apartment. Garda

4:42

Tom Carey noted heavy smoke and scorch

4:44

marks on the wall and ceiling over

4:46

Derek Benson's bed. A wardrobe

4:49

was toppled over on the bedroom

4:51

floor and upon closer inspection Garda

4:53

Carey saw that the top of

4:55

it had suffered extensive fire damage,

4:57

indicating that an attempt was made

4:59

to set it alight. In

5:02

the second bedroom of the flash,

5:04

investigators found evidence to suggest that

5:06

someone had attempted to light yet

5:08

another fire. Gardi

5:10

were keeping an open mind as they

5:12

continued their investigation on the ground. They

5:14

spoke to Derek Benson's partner,

5:17

Jackie Noble, who told them that she had

5:19

left the flash at around 10 past 1

5:21

that morning to return to her deceased parents'

5:23

house in Nouth Court where she had been

5:26

staying in recent times. This

5:28

gave officers a timeline to work with

5:30

and they appealed for anyone who may

5:32

have seen anything suspicious in the vicinity

5:34

of Sandy Hill Avenue between 10 past

5:36

1 and 10 minutes to

5:38

4 in the early hours of May

5:40

13th to come forward. Given

5:43

the bloody and brutal nature of Derek

5:45

Benson's murder, officers knew that the killer's

5:47

clothing would have been heavily blood spattered

5:49

and they were sure that some residents

5:52

of the apartment complex would have seen

5:54

the attacker leaving the scene. On

5:57

the Monday following Derek's death, an appeal was

5:59

made on RT-11. E's crime line

6:01

television show, asking for anyone with

6:03

information to come forward. Following

6:05

the broadcast, an anonymous call was made

6:08

to Gardee about a pair of youths

6:10

that were seen acting suspiciously in the

6:12

area around the time of the killing

6:15

and officers set about investigating this lead.

6:18

However, within the next 24 hours, the

6:20

case would take an unexpected turn.

6:24

On May 17th, four days after

6:26

Derek Benson's killing, his partner Jackie

6:28

Noble presented herself at Santree Garda

6:31

station, saying she wanted to make

6:33

a statement. She was taken

6:35

to an interview room by Detective Garda

6:37

Andrew O'Keefe where she revealed the

6:39

details of her relationship with Derek

6:41

Benson and gave a shocking account of

6:43

the night of May 13th. Noble

6:47

told Detective O'Keefe that she had met Derek

6:49

Benson when she was just 16, but things

6:52

had quickly turned sour between the couple.

6:55

About six months into the relationship

6:57

on Halloween night, Benson became physically

6:59

abusive when he kicked Jackie Noble

7:01

so hard in the face that

7:03

he gave her a black eye. What

7:05

followed was almost two decades of

7:07

horrific abuse. Noble

7:10

gave the detective a detailed and

7:12

harrowing account of her relationship with

7:14

Derek Benson, alleging that he beat

7:16

her frequently using his hands, feet

7:18

and whatever he had nearby that

7:20

could be used as a weapon.

7:23

Benson also subjected her to

7:25

quote, "...mental torture and sexual

7:27

abuse." She asserted

7:29

that Derek Benson was possessive and

7:31

a control freak. Noble

7:33

and Benson had a daughter who was 13

7:35

at the time of her father's death. She

7:38

had also suffered at the hands of Derek

7:41

Benson who was known to physically assault his

7:43

daughter from a young age. In

7:45

addition to this abuse, Noble told detectives

7:47

that in 1993 when the girl was

7:49

just five or six, her

7:51

school principal had expressed some concerns

7:54

over her behavior. This led

7:56

to a suspicion that Benson may have been

7:58

abusing their daughter sexually. and Noble

8:00

took her to Temple Street Hospital for

8:02

assessment. The young girl was

8:04

examined and signs of abuse were

8:07

found, so Gardi were contacted. However,

8:09

it was claimed that the child was

8:12

then threatened by Benson and as a

8:14

result, her complaint was withdrawn and no

8:16

charges were brought. Noble

8:19

told Gardi that in more recent times,

8:21

Benson was using their teenage daughter to

8:23

administer heroin to him and he was

8:26

allowing her to quote, smoke joints and

8:28

stuff. According to Jackie,

8:30

Benson was also forcing their daughter to

8:32

sell drugs on the street for him.

8:35

She told Gardi quote, he was ruining

8:37

her life just like he ruined mine.

8:40

Noble and Benson had lived together with their

8:43

daughter in the flash in Sandy Hill Avenue

8:45

for a number of years but in the

8:47

months leading up to the killing Noble went

8:49

to live at her parents house in North

8:51

Court. Her mother had passed

8:53

away some years before while her father's

8:56

death had been more recent and she

8:58

found comfort in the familiar surroundings of

9:00

her childhood home. However,

9:02

despite this brief respite, Benson still

9:04

controlled many aspects of her life

9:07

and the domestic abuse continued. When

9:10

asked why she hadn't just left Derek Benson

9:12

for good, Jackie Noble said that he had

9:14

threatened that if she ever tried to leave

9:16

him, he would cut their daughter up in

9:18

front of her and then stab

9:20

her too. Given Benson's

9:22

volatile temper and history of violence, Noble

9:24

said she had no reason to doubt

9:26

him. In her

9:28

interview with Detective O'Keefe, Noble explained

9:30

that her resentment had been seething

9:32

for some time but had come

9:34

to a head in the weeks

9:36

leading up to Benson's death. She

9:39

had confided in an acquaintance named

9:41

Paul Hopkins telling him about the

9:43

frequent beatings and abuse that she

9:45

suffered from her partner. Hopkins

9:47

was a 21-year-old bouncer who worked on

9:49

the door of a pub in Drumcandra.

9:52

Noble knew him because she had sold him

9:54

a heroin substitute on a number of occasions

9:56

and he had also on occasion used her

9:58

flat to smoke heroin. when. Noble

10:01

admitted to detectives that she was

10:03

also, quote, on gear. When

10:06

Noble told Hopkins about the frequent, vicious

10:08

beatings that Benson put her through, she

10:10

said that the young doorman had offered

10:12

to do something about it for her.

10:15

Hopkins had also had a number of

10:17

run-ins with Benson in the past and

10:20

was more than happy to help her

10:22

exact some justice. Detective

10:25

O'Keefe asked Noble how she responded to

10:27

Hopkins' offer and she claimed that she

10:29

had told him that she wouldn't mind

10:31

Benson getting a beating or ending up

10:33

in a wheelchair, reasoning that this would

10:35

help her to get away from him.

10:38

She went on to tell Detective O'Keefe

10:40

that she had hired someone to assault

10:42

Benson 11 years earlier in the hope

10:44

that it would be sufficient punishment to

10:46

stop his abuse of her, but it

10:48

hadn't worked and the beatings continued. After

10:52

Hopkins had offered to, quote, do something about

10:54

Derek, Noble said she agreed to pay him

10:56

3,000 punts for what

10:58

she claimed was a planned assault and she

11:00

gave him an advance of 200 punts.

11:04

Two days before the attack, Noble met

11:06

with Hopkins who gave her some sleeping

11:08

tablets and a Nokia phone and

11:10

the pair hatched a plan. They agreed

11:12

that Noble would go to the flat

11:14

and drug Benson and when the sleeping

11:17

tablets started to take effect she would

11:19

contact Hopkins on the phone to let

11:21

him know. Noble would then

11:23

wait for Hopkins to arrive so she could

11:25

let him in and once he did she

11:28

would leave and go back to her

11:30

parents house on Nouth Court while Hopkins

11:32

carried out the assault. On

11:34

the evening of May 13th, Jackie told the

11:37

detectives she went to Benson's flat at around

11:39

9pm. He was recovering

11:41

from a dental procedure so he was

11:43

in bed and the couple ate macado

11:45

biscuits together while they watched the movie

11:47

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Noble

11:50

made coffee for Benson, lacing it with

11:53

the sleeping tablets that Paul Hopkins had

11:55

given her and duly made contact

11:57

with Hopkins on the phone at around

11:59

10pm. past one, Hopkins arrived.

12:02

Noble said, quote, He walked in and

12:04

I walked out. A

12:07

short time later, after she had arrived

12:09

back at her parents' house in Nouth

12:11

Court, Jackie Noble received a phone call

12:13

from Benson's neighbor, Claire Keighley. Noble

12:16

recounted that Claire told her that the

12:18

flat was on fire and continued, quote,

12:20

I felt sick. Derek was never meant

12:23

to be killed. Hurt, yes, but not

12:25

killed. She was very insistent

12:27

with Garde that she had no desire that

12:29

Benson be killed. After

12:31

giving her statement to Garde, Jackie

12:33

Noble left the station without charge and

12:35

signed herself into St. Vincent's psychiatric unit

12:38

while officers went in search of Paul

12:40

Hopkins. At 6.30 a.m.

12:43

on May 18th, Garde raided Paul

12:47

Hopkins' home in Salogue Road, Baliman.

12:50

They arrested Hopkins, taking him to

12:52

Century Garda Station for questioning. Hopkins

12:55

soon realized that Garde knew everything

12:57

and that lying would be

12:59

futile. He told investigators

13:01

that Derek Benson frequently demanded money

13:03

from him and intimidated him. He

13:06

claimed to be afraid of Benson, who he

13:08

said regularly boasted about beating and cutting people

13:10

up. Both Hopkins and Benson

13:12

had been sent on a fast course to

13:15

the U.S. together in the past, where the

13:17

bullying continued. According to Hopkins,

13:19

the situation culminated in Benson threatening

13:21

to rape his girlfriend and baby

13:23

girl before killing them. He

13:26

told Garde he believed that Benson was

13:28

a pedophile who had, quote, interfered with

13:30

children, so he thought the threat against

13:32

his partner and child were credible. Hopkins

13:35

said, quote, When I heard this, I

13:37

snapped. I despised him with a passion.

13:40

Hopkins went on to say that a fortnight

13:42

before the killing, he bumped into Noble. She

13:45

was crying and told him that Benson had stolen

13:47

a bracelet that had been given to her by

13:49

her late father. She also

13:51

confided in him about the beatings and

13:53

other abuse that Derek Benson inflicted on

13:55

her. After hearing this, Hopkins

13:57

said that he offered to kill Benson for the first

13:59

time. for Jackie Noble. She

14:01

said that she would pay him if he did, and made

14:03

mention of 5,000 punts. Following

14:07

this conversation, the pair met again a number

14:09

of weeks later and formulated a plan. Hopkins

14:12

went to the apartment of his brother

14:14

Michael, who collected swords. Paul

14:17

told Michael that he knew a taxi driver

14:19

who wanted to buy one of the swords

14:21

and selected one from the collection. It was

14:24

a black-handled Chinese model with

14:26

a 12-inch curved blade. He

14:28

gave his brother £80 for the weapon. He

14:31

then bought a Nokia mobile phone and

14:33

some sleeping tablets and two days before

14:36

Benson was murdered, Hopkins met Jackie to

14:38

give her the phone and the medication.

14:40

In the early

14:42

hours of May 13th, Jackie Noble called

14:44

Hopkins to say everything was going as

14:46

planned. After hanging up, Hopkins armed himself

14:48

with the sword and went to Benson's

14:51

home at Sandy Hill Avenue. Jackie was

14:53

just leaving the flat as he entered.

14:55

In his statement, Hopkins said that he had asked

14:57

Noble if she was sure she wanted to go

14:59

ahead with the plan, and she replied that

15:01

she was sure. He claimed

15:04

to Garde that at the time he was trying

15:06

to get out of the arrangement he had made,

15:08

but nevertheless he had gone through with it.

15:11

Hopkins then gave a gruesome and detailed account

15:13

of the killing, saying that he took the

15:15

sword from a bag and swung it at

15:17

Derek Benson as he slept in bed. Benson

15:20

woke up and started to wrestle with the sword.

15:23

He was bleeding heavily and jumped from the

15:25

bed in an attempt to escape, but

15:27

Hopkins chased him. Hopkins

15:29

admitted that he kept stabbing Benson

15:31

until he died. He then described

15:34

to the detectives how he set Benson's

15:36

betalite and threw lighting papers into the

15:38

wardrobe to ignite it before leaving the

15:40

flat with the sword. Hopkins

15:42

later asked a friend named Lorna Langan to

15:45

keep the sword at her flat in Slogue

15:47

Road, but he didn't give her any information

15:49

as to why he wanted her to hold

15:51

it for him. Asked

15:53

in the interview to describe his interactions with

15:56

Jackie, Hopkins claimed that Noble had smiled as

15:58

she asked him to keep it. to kill

16:00

Benson. He said that

16:02

Jackie was calling the shots and asserted

16:04

that the decision to kill Derek Benson

16:06

was hers. He told Garde

16:08

that he had asked Noble if she

16:10

really wanted it done and she had

16:12

replied, quote, Yeah, I definitely wanted done.

16:15

Hopkins said that he was scared at the time,

16:17

but that he had definitely made up his mind

16:19

to stand up to Benson. Garde

16:22

charged Paul Hopkins with the murder of

16:24

Derek Benson at 6.30pm that evening. Doctors

16:28

also went to the home of Lorna Langan,

16:30

where they recovered the sword in a wardrobe

16:32

in one of her bedrooms. Meanwhile,

16:35

they lay in wait for Jackie Noble,

16:37

knowing that she was receiving inpatient care

16:39

in St. Vincent's. Three

16:42

days after signing herself in, she was

16:44

released and was leaving the unit when

16:46

the car she was traveling in was

16:48

stopped by Detective Sergeant Murphy. He told

16:51

her that he was arresting her for the murder

16:53

of Derek Benson, which caused her to collapse in

16:55

the backseat of the car. Noble

16:58

was taken to St. Regarda station where

17:00

she was questioned further. She

17:02

gave a similar account to her initial

17:04

statement, but also added that she had

17:06

tried repeatedly to have Benson harmed in

17:08

recent years. She admitted that

17:10

on one occasion she had paid

17:12

£500 to a Northern Irishman to

17:14

have Benson shot, but the man

17:16

disappeared after being paid and nothing

17:19

further came of the situation. She

17:22

had also spoken to another individual who offered

17:24

to give Derek Benson a quote dose of

17:26

bad gear. Noble offered to

17:28

pay the man to do this, but again

17:30

nothing came of it. Noble

17:33

was then brought before Dublin District Court,

17:35

where she was formally charged with the

17:37

murder of Derek Benson. In response

17:39

to the charge, she said quote,

17:41

I am sorry, I am very sorry.

17:55

Have you ever felt like escaping to your

17:57

own desert island? Jane Gaskin

17:59

did exactly that, trading in the family

18:01

home to begin a new life in the

18:03

tropics. But she soon

18:05

discovers the Paradise has its secrets.

18:08

I'm Alice Levine and this is the

18:11

Price of Paradise, the island

18:13

dream that ends in kidnap, corruption

18:15

and murder. Wish

18:17

you were here? Follow the Price of

18:20

Paradise now, wherever you listen to pop off.

18:25

The joint murder trial opened on January 12,

18:27

2004 before Mr. Justice Henry Abbott. Journalist

18:32

Liz Walsh reported extensively on the proceedings

18:35

for a number of national media outlets.

18:38

In the time that had passed since

18:40

the killing of Derek Benson, detectives had

18:42

uncovered far more facts surrounding the case

18:45

and prosecuting counsel Tom O'Connell used

18:47

these facts to illustrate the state's

18:50

case for the jury. Prior

18:52

to the contract-killing agreement, Jackie Noble learned

18:54

that she was due to inherit an

18:57

amount of money and a portion of

18:59

property from her late father's estate. Derek

19:01

Benson had already laid claim to some of

19:04

the money, intending to use it

19:06

to buy an apartment and a motorbike. Mr.

19:09

O'Connell contended that it was this

19:12

demand for money that precipitated the

19:14

agreement between Jackie Noble and Paul

19:16

Hopkins. The prosecuting

19:18

counsel detailed the extent of Derek

19:20

Benson's injuries, describing in

19:23

particular the seven wounds where the sword

19:25

went through his body completely from front

19:27

to back. He outlined the

19:29

violent nature of Benson and Noble's

19:31

relationship, the imminent inheritance and Derek

19:33

Benson's plan to spend the money

19:35

once Noble received it. The

19:37

state maintained that this is what

19:40

put the murder plan into motion,

19:42

though acknowledging that Jackie Noble had

19:44

contemplated killing Benson for some time.

19:47

Senior counsel O'Connell stated, quote, The plan was

19:50

that Mr. Hopkins would actually kill Mr. Benson,

19:52

and he would do this at the request

19:54

of Ms. Noble, who paid him a certain

19:56

amount of money up front and agreed

19:58

to pay him more. after Benson

20:00

was killed. Mr. O'Connell

20:03

described for the jury the meeting between Noble

20:05

and Hopkins that took place two days before

20:07

the murder, telling the jury

20:09

that a mobile phone and sleeping tablets

20:11

exchanged hands. Senior counsel

20:14

for the prosecution argued, quote, "'It was agreed

20:16

that she would go to the flash and

20:18

drug Mr. Benson and she would then contact

20:20

Mr. Hopkins when the coast was clear. She

20:23

would then leave and he would kill him.' The

20:26

jury was told that they would hear

20:28

evidence from neighbours of Derek Benson who

20:30

heard screaming at around 3am before seeing

20:32

smoke coming from his flat. Counsel

20:35

explained that Hopkins had set fire to

20:37

the flash after killing Mr. Benson, though

20:40

they admitted that this was not part

20:42

of the original plan. Counsel

20:44

asserted that because Noble had, quote,

20:46

"'engaged' Hopkins to kill her partner,

20:49

she was equally responsible for Derek

20:51

Benson's death because the pair had

20:53

acted in joint enterprise." First

20:56

to the stand was Claire Keeley who

20:59

lived in the unit adjoining Derek Benson.

21:02

She told the court that around 3am on the 13th

21:04

of May, she had heard

21:06

screaming coming from Benson's flat. She said

21:08

that her attention was drawn when she

21:11

heard someone who she believed was Benson

21:13

shouting, for God's sake. Claire

21:15

looked out her window to see what was going

21:17

on and it was then that she noticed smoke

21:19

and fire billowing from Benson's

21:21

home. She placed a call to

21:23

the emergency services but were also ringing

21:26

Jackie Noble to tell her that the flat

21:28

was on fire. Under

21:30

cross from Paul Hopkins Defence Council Isabelle

21:32

Kennedy, the witness agreed that she was

21:35

aware of a barring order in place

21:37

between Benson and Noble. Speaking

21:40

of the abuse perpetrated on Noble by Benson,

21:42

Claire Keeley said, quote, "'she wanted to get

21:44

out because of the violence in the way

21:46

he treated her.' Ms. Keeley

21:48

went on to recall an occasion when

21:50

Jackie Noble ran into her flat to

21:53

escape Benson. She told the court,

21:55

quote, "'he ran after her into my bedroom, he

21:57

was killing her.'" According to

21:59

Claire Keeley, Benson then started beating and

22:01

kicking Noble when she was on the ground.

22:04

Asked to describe her relationship with Jackie

22:07

Noble, Ms. Keeley said that they were

22:09

neighbours when Noble lived at the Sandy

22:11

Hill Avenue complex. She recalled

22:13

the first time they had met, saying that

22:15

Noble's hand was very swollen. Keeley

22:18

asked her what had happened, and Noble

22:20

had responded that she had not made Benson's breakfast

22:22

that morning, so he hit her with a plank

22:24

of wood on the hand. The witness

22:26

went on to tell Isabelle Kennedy that she

22:28

was afraid of Derek Benson. She

22:31

had argued with him about something in the

22:33

past, after which Ms. Keeley alleged he, quote,

22:35

threatened to burn me out of it. She

22:37

reported the threat to Gardee at the time, but

22:40

no charges were ever brought in relation to the

22:42

matter. Mary Ellen Ring

22:44

at defending Noble asked Ms. Keeley if

22:46

she knew what would happen in the

22:48

aftermath of the assaults by Derek Benson.

22:51

Ms. Keeley said that it was always Jackie

22:53

Noble who would say sorry after the rouse,

22:55

and never Benson. The

22:57

defence barrister asked the witness if she

22:59

was aware that Benson had assaulted Noble's

23:01

father, and Claire responded that she

23:04

hadn't seen it but that she had been

23:06

told about the incident. Ms.

23:08

Keeley was also asked about whether she knew

23:10

if Benson was thought to be dealing drugs

23:12

in addition to his personal use, which she

23:14

confirmed she did, and when asked by defence

23:16

council if she thought that Derek Benson was

23:18

liked in the area, Ms. Keeley responded that

23:21

she didn't think so, and that people were

23:23

mostly afraid of him. Ms.

23:25

Keeley then told the court that Benson

23:27

had a violent temper and that Jackie

23:29

Noble could never leave him because he

23:31

would not allow her to. She testified,

23:33

quote, he'd said he'd kill her first.

23:36

State pathologist Dr. Mary Cassidy took to the

23:39

stand and gave evidence of the 85 wounds

23:42

that Derek Benson had suffered as he

23:44

was attacked. The pathologist said

23:46

that Benson had suffered 25 stab injuries, with

23:49

a number of the wounds going through the body front to

23:51

back. In addition to this, Dr.

23:54

Cassidy found that Benson had sustained an additional

23:56

60 cutting or incised wounds

23:58

which extended from head to head. to

24:00

toe. She said this had

24:02

been a quote, sustained and vicious assault.

24:05

The pathologist described a total of 17 wounds

24:08

to Benson's head and neck, including a

24:10

gaping wound which cut through his throat

24:12

to the cervical spine. The

24:14

jury heard that this was a quote,

24:16

slicing or hacking injury, which Dr. Cassidy

24:19

believed was as a result of an

24:21

attempt to decapitate the victim. She

24:24

also noted a number of wounds

24:26

to the scalp and face, some

24:28

of which extended from mouth to

24:30

ear. Derek Benson's right kidney, lung,

24:32

liver, spleen and aorta were all

24:34

punctured during the attack and

24:37

Dr. Cassidy told the court that she had determined

24:39

the cause of death to be quote, multiple

24:41

stab, incise and cutting injuries to

24:43

the head, trunk and limbs. She

24:46

added that toxicology reports carried out

24:48

on Benson showed levels of methadone,

24:51

sleeping tablets and valium. The

24:53

drugs said the pathologist would have had a

24:55

cumulative effect. Following

24:58

Dr. Cassidy's evidence, an officer began to

25:00

read Jackie Noble's statements to Gardee for

25:03

the court, detailing the horrific violence she

25:05

had suffered at the hands of Benson

25:07

and her subsequent attempts to have him

25:10

assaulted and injured. However, halfway

25:12

through the trial was adjourned so that legal

25:14

argument could take place in the absence of

25:16

the jury. This had already happened a

25:19

number of times in the first few days

25:21

of the proceedings and on this occasion the

25:23

adjournment was expected to last no longer than

25:25

a day or two. However, the

25:27

legal arguments ended up dragging on for

25:29

almost three weeks in the end, before

25:31

the trial finally resumed on February

25:33

3rd to hear the remainder of

25:35

Jackie Noble's statements to Gardee. The

25:38

jury heard Noble's account of eating biscuits

25:40

and watching movies with Benson on the

25:42

night he died before she left Paul

25:44

Hopkins into the flash and headed back

25:46

to Niv Court. The

25:49

next witness was Detective Sergeant Matt Murphy who

25:51

gave evidence to the court about a barring

25:53

order that was in place between Benson and

25:56

Noble at the time of the killing. The

25:59

order had arisen after an assault by

26:01

Benson which resulted in Noble being hospitalised

26:04

for broken ribs. Next,

26:06

Paul Hopkins' initial statement to Gardee

26:08

was read aloud. The jury

26:11

heard the defendant's account of his complicated

26:13

and tense history with Derek Benson. Hopkins'

26:16

version of the lead-up to the killing was

26:18

then recited as well as the killing itself,

26:20

and how he had given the sword to

26:23

a friend to hold in the aftermath of

26:25

the crime. This was followed up with

26:27

evidence from Detective Gardet Andrew O'Keefe who

26:29

recounted travelling to the home of Lorna

26:31

Langan to retrieve the weapon. The detective

26:34

recalled that when he arrived at the

26:36

flash with a number of other officers,

26:38

they were invited in by Ms. Langan's

26:40

partner. Ms. Langan herself arrived

26:42

a short time later and she gave permission

26:44

to Gardee to search the home. He

26:46

described the discovery of the sword in the

26:48

wardrobe of a bedroom in the flash. In

26:52

other evidence, Detective Gardet Tom Carey

26:54

of the Garda Ballistics section detailed

26:56

the attempt made to set Derek

26:58

Benson's apartment on fire. The

27:01

jury were shown photographs from the scene

27:03

which depicted scorch marks over Benson's bed

27:05

as well as the fire-damaged wardrobe.

27:09

Detective Gardet Carey also recounted the heavy

27:11

bloodstaining that he encountered in the bedroom

27:13

where Derek Benson had been sleeping when

27:15

he was attacked. Paul

27:18

Hopkins' brother Michael was the next

27:20

witness to give evidence. He

27:22

told the central criminal court that he

27:24

had been on drugs since 1997 and

27:26

was addicted to heroin. Tom O'Connell, Senior

27:29

Counsel, asked Michael if he knew Jackie Noble

27:31

and Derek Benson and he said that he

27:33

did. Counsel then asked him

27:35

if he knew that his brother Paul

27:38

had been getting the heroin substitute fisotone

27:40

from Noble and again Michael answered that

27:42

he did. Questioning then

27:44

turned to Michael's weapon collection which he said

27:46

he had been building for a while. At

27:49

the time of the killing he said he

27:51

owned a number of different swords. Michael

27:53

recalled giving one of his swords to his

27:55

brother Paul in the days leading up to

27:57

the death of Derek Benson telling the court...

28:00

he believed that the blade was being sold

28:02

to a taxi driver, with Paul being the

28:04

middleman. He said he

28:06

was paid 80 pounds for the weapon.

28:08

When asked by Tom O'Connell who

28:10

had given him the money, Michael

28:12

replied, Paul. The

28:14

final witness called by the prosecution

28:16

was Paul Hopkins' former girlfriend, Lisa

28:19

Morehouse. Lisa wept as she

28:21

told the course that Derek Benson had threatened

28:23

her and her baby on four separate occasions,

28:26

and that he once chased her with a butcher's knife.

28:29

She told Senior Council Tom O'Connell that

28:31

Hopkins initially denied any involvement in the

28:33

killing, however she said he later broke

28:35

down and said he didn't mean to

28:37

do it and that he wanted to

28:39

go to the Gardee. Isabel

28:41

Kennedy defending Hopkins asked the witness

28:43

how she felt about Derek Benson.

28:46

Lisa said that she was afraid of him

28:49

and continued quote, he was just a horrible

28:51

person. She recounted one

28:53

instance when Benson had accosted her while

28:55

she was holding her baby. She

28:58

claimed he had pointed at her and her

29:00

daughter saying quote, see you, you stupid bastard,

29:02

I'm going to petrol bomb you and the

29:04

little bastard out of it. Ms. Kennedy asked

29:06

the witness if she had taken this print

29:08

seriously and Lisa responded that she had, adding

29:11

quote, everyone knows he was a blade

29:13

merchant and carried blades. He'd already chased

29:15

me with a knife. Lisa

29:18

told the court that she was a recovering drug

29:20

addict. She said she was no

29:22

longer in a relationship with Paul Hopkins,

29:24

but described their past relationship as good

29:27

apart from their mutual drug use and

29:29

said he had treated her like a queen. However,

29:32

after the killing, she noticed a change

29:34

in Hopkins saying that he became quote,

29:36

very messed up. She told

29:38

Ms. Kennedy that her daughter was now in

29:40

the custody of Paul Hopkins because she said

29:43

he was a brilliant father. On

29:46

February 9th, Paul Hopkins entered the witness

29:48

box to give evidence in his own

29:50

defense. By this stage, the

29:52

trial was in its fourth week, having

29:54

been beset by prolonged legal argument. Hopkins

29:57

told the court that Derek Benson was a quote.

30:00

psychopath. He detailed how

30:02

he had been bullied and assaulted on

30:04

five occasions over a four-year period by

30:06

Benson but said that it was

30:08

not until Benson threatened to harm his

30:10

girlfriend and baby daughter that he decided

30:12

to stand up to him. His defence

30:14

counsel, Isabel Kennedy, put it to Hopkins

30:16

that he went to Derek Benson's flat

30:18

with a sword and the defendant agreed

30:21

that this was the case. She

30:23

asked him what he intended to do

30:25

once inside and the defendant said that

30:27

he'd wanted to scare Derek Benson. He

30:30

went on to detail the events that

30:32

transpired and Benson flashed the jury, saying

30:35

that he had poked the other man with

30:37

the sword as he lay in bed. Benson

30:39

woke, jumped up and a struggle ensued, during

30:42

which the sword fell to the floor. Hopkins

30:45

claimed that when this happened, Benson had picked

30:47

it up and swung it at him. The

30:50

defendant added that his fingers were caught as he

30:52

tried to take the weapon back and at that

30:54

point he lost control. Hopkins

30:57

testified, quote, I think I went

30:59

into a frenzied attack, I just

31:01

started swinging. Ms Kennedy

31:03

asked her client how he felt after the

31:05

killing and Hopkins said that he was, quote,

31:07

sick and scared about a lot of things.

31:11

He alleged that Derek Benson was a violent

31:13

man and claimed that he, quote, interfered with

31:16

children. Hopkins recalled being

31:18

in Boston on a fast course when

31:20

Benson threatened to petrol bomb his girlfriend,

31:22

Lisa, and his daughter, quote, after he

31:25

was finished with them. Hopkins

31:27

told the jury that he took this to

31:29

mean that he would rape Lisa and the

31:31

baby. Ms Kennedy asked

31:33

Hopkins if he had meant to kill or

31:35

cause serious harm when he went to Benson's

31:38

flat that night. He responded

31:40

that he had only wanted to stand up to

31:42

a man he thought was a bully and added

31:44

that it had taken him four years as a

31:46

threat to his child to actually attempt to stand

31:49

up to him. He was

31:51

insistent that he had never meant to

31:53

kill Derek Benson. On

31:55

his second day in the witness box,

31:57

Hopkins was cross examined by Dominic McGinn.

32:00

the prosecution, he denied ever

32:02

telling Garde that Jackie Noble had offered

32:04

to pay him to kill Derek Benson

32:06

and insisted that money had never

32:09

been mentioned in his conversations with

32:11

his co-defendant. Mr McGinn

32:13

put it to him that according to his

32:15

Garde statement, Jackie was calling

32:17

the shots. Hopkins disagreed

32:20

reiterating that he had made his mind up

32:22

to stand up to him and

32:24

that he had been scared when it came

32:26

time to actually act upon this. The

32:30

next day, Jackie Noble gave some of

32:32

the most harrowing and emotional evidence of

32:34

the trial. She recalled the beginning of

32:36

her relationship with Benson and how

32:39

things had turned violent after six months. Noble

32:41

had been just 16 at the time. She

32:44

told the jury, quote, he gave me a kick

32:46

into the face at Halloween. He busted my eye.

32:49

Noble said that she subsequently became pregnant

32:51

with Benson's child, but on her mother's

32:53

advice, she had a termination. Her parents

32:56

were very concerned for her and they

32:58

wanted her to keep away from him,

33:00

but she was already growing increasingly

33:03

fearful of Benson's volatile nature. She

33:05

told the court that she became pregnant again and this

33:07

time she had the baby, a little

33:10

girl. Noble recalled that

33:12

at the child's christening, Benson

33:14

became very drunk. He ended up smashing

33:16

the windows in her parents' house and

33:18

assaulted her father, biting him on the

33:21

back. She said that these bite

33:23

marks were visible on her father's back up

33:25

until the day he died. Noble

33:28

said that she had three more abortions

33:30

after her daughter was born because she

33:32

refused to have another baby with Benson

33:34

due to the beatings. Noble

33:37

detailed the litany of physical abuse that

33:39

she had experienced at the hands of

33:41

Benson. She alleged that

33:43

he would use his fists, feet and objects

33:45

to beat her on a regular basis. She

33:48

recounted one incident where he split her eye

33:50

open because his stew was not on the

33:53

right side of the plate. Noble

33:55

said Benson often aimed his blows at her

33:57

back so that no one else would see

33:59

the mark. Noble

34:01

then turned her face away from the court

34:03

as she gave details of the horrific sexual

34:05

abuse that she had suffered from Benson. The

34:09

defendant said that her sisters were unaware of

34:11

the extent of the abuse and it distressed

34:13

her greatly to recount it. Benson,

34:15

she said, would often tie her to a

34:17

bed or a chair before raping her orally

34:19

or anally. Her defence

34:22

counsel, Mary Ellen Ring, asked if Benson

34:24

had ever been violent towards their daughter

34:27

and Noble recalled one occasion where she caught

34:29

him kicking and punching her in the bedroom.

34:32

The little girl was just seven or eight at the

34:34

time. Noble called Garde

34:36

and they took Benson away but he was

34:39

released and back at the slash the very

34:41

next morning. In her second

34:43

day of evidence, Noble described how Benson taught

34:45

their daughter to inject him with heroin when

34:47

she was just 13. He

34:50

also claimed that he allowed the teen to

34:52

smoke hash and forced her to sell what

34:54

Noble called rips on the street for him.

34:57

She went on to tell her defence barrister that

34:59

her daughter had often slept in the same bed

35:01

as her father and she suspected that

35:03

Benson had had sex with another 13-year-old

35:06

girl who had spent the night at his

35:08

flash. Noble broke

35:10

down frequently on the stand as she gave

35:12

her evidence. She explained her

35:14

ultimate goal to the jury telling them,

35:16

quote, I just wanted to get away

35:18

from him, to let me and my daughter live in

35:20

peace. She said she

35:22

had regularly sought refuge with friends after

35:25

the beatings from Benson and described herself

35:27

as a bag lady, always going off

35:29

to stay somewhere else away from him.

35:32

The defendant went on to testify that it

35:34

got to the point that she could no

35:36

longer live with the ongoing physical, sexual and

35:39

mental torture. She said she would

35:41

often wake up in the morning to find Benson

35:43

leering over her wearing a balaclava and holding a

35:45

knife to her throat. She

35:47

wept and stated, quote, I just had

35:49

enough. My brain was exploding with everything.

35:53

After Jackie Noble's evidence concluded, Garda Sinead-McGee

35:55

told the court that she was on

35:57

duty in Ballymun in 1990. in

36:00

1997 when she heard Derek Benson shouting

36:02

up at Jackie Noble's flat. Noble

36:04

told the officer that she had a

36:07

borrowing order against Benson and Garda McGee

36:09

told him to leave the area. However,

36:12

as she spoke to Jackie Noble, Benson

36:14

managed to sneak into the flat. Garda

36:17

McGee arrested him and brought him before

36:19

the district court. He was granted

36:21

bail and, as he was being brought

36:23

to sign the bond, he told Garda

36:25

McGee, quote, I guarantee you that I'll

36:27

be back in Jackie's flat tonight and

36:29

she won't be making a complaint. Garda

36:32

McGee returned him to court immediately and

36:34

his bail was revoked. Later,

36:37

as she was bringing Benson through the

36:39

tunnel to the cells, she described how

36:41

Benson had swung around and struck her

36:43

in an apparent attempt to knock the

36:45

guard down the stairs. As

36:47

a result of this incident, Benson was

36:49

further charged and jailed for six months.

36:53

Jackie Noble's GP, Dr. Maurice

36:55

Houston, gave evidence that supported

36:58

all of the defendant's claims

37:00

of injury caused by Derek

37:02

Benson. Dr. Houston had

37:04

treated Noble repeatedly between 1994 and

37:08

1999 and he detailed a

37:10

litany of injuries that she had

37:12

attended the surgery with, including fractured

37:14

ribs, bruises to the chest and

37:16

back, kicks to the back

37:18

and shoulder, and extensive bruising to

37:20

the body and thighs. On

37:23

at least two occasions, the GP said he

37:25

had referred her to A&E to

37:27

have x-rays performed. According

37:29

to Dr. Houston, Jackie Noble's main

37:31

concern was for the welfare of

37:33

her daughter. He recalled Noble

37:36

as an excellent mother and said she

37:38

cared for her daughter extremely well. The

37:40

doctor concluded his evidence saying that he

37:42

always advised Noble to contact Garda, but

37:45

the cycle of abuse had continued. Next,

37:48

the jury heard evidence from Ms. Anne

37:51

O'Connor, who was a clinical psychologist

37:53

attached to St. Clair's unit of

37:55

Temple Street Children's Hospital. Ms.

37:58

O'Connor said that in 1993, Jackie

38:00

Noble brought her daughter to the unit to

38:02

be seen. She told the

38:04

court that St. Claire's unit was a

38:06

particular department of the hospital that assessed

38:08

suspected cases of child sexual abuse. The

38:12

final witness called by Jackie Noble's defence

38:14

team was her sister Wendy Dalton. Wendy

38:17

broke down as she told the court how

38:19

she had witnessed Derek Benson assaulting her sister

38:21

on a number of occasions. Through

38:24

tears Wendy recalled quote, you could be with him

38:26

in the same room and he'd just turn around

38:28

and give her a clatter in the face or

38:30

maybe a box. She recalled

38:32

one incident in particular that occurred in

38:34

her parents house as she and Jackie

38:37

stood in the kitchen chatting. Benson

38:39

had walked in and started arguing

38:41

and threatening Jackie. He pulled

38:43

up his fists and told Wendy quote, don't think

38:45

I won't hit you either. Wendy's

38:48

boyfriend tried to stop him and Derek

38:50

Benson pulled a knife out of his

38:52

back pocket. On another occasion

38:54

the witness said that Jackie had been staying at

38:56

her parents house as their father was dying. Wendy

38:59

walked in to find her sister in a state,

39:01

her hair was in disarray and there was a

39:03

mark on her cheek. Wendy

39:05

went on to describe Benson's volatility

39:08

and the fear that he induced

39:10

in everyone around him. What

39:12

stuck out in Wendy's mind was how

39:14

Benson's whole face would contort and

39:16

he would be almost quote foaming at

39:18

the mouth. Wendy recalled

39:21

quote, it was frightening to look at.

39:23

Once you'd see Derek you'd always be shaking,

39:25

my legs would turn to jelly. Have

39:37

you ever felt like escaping to your own

39:39

desert island? Jane Gaskin did exactly

39:41

that, trading in the family home to

39:44

begin a new life in the tropics.

39:46

But she soon discovers that paradise has

39:49

its secrets. I'm

39:51

Alice Levine and this is the price

39:53

of paradise, the island dream

39:55

that ends in kidnap, corruption,

39:58

and murder. you were here?

40:01

Follow the price of paradise now, wherever

40:03

you listen to Pop-Off." In

40:07

his closing speech, Tom O'Connell prosecuting told

40:09

the jury that there was no defence

40:12

in this case. Council said

40:14

that the evidence that Jackie Noble had

40:16

had a quote, dog's life, at the

40:18

hands of Derek Benson was no justification

40:20

for having him killed. He

40:22

argued, quote, on this night, there

40:24

was no attack on Ms Noble.

40:27

Prosecution asks you to bring in

40:29

a verdict of guilty in relation

40:31

to Mr Hopkins and Ms Noble.

40:35

Council for Hopkins and Noble didn't agree.

40:38

Isabel Kennedy, defending Hopkins, said that the

40:40

assertion that there was no defence in

40:42

the case was absolutely absurd. The

40:44

barrister argued that the defence of self-defence

40:47

was open to her client as

40:49

he had not gone to the flat with the intention

40:51

of killing Derek Benson. He

40:53

had gone to frighten Benson, she said. Ms

40:56

Kennedy reminded the jury that Hopkins was

40:58

clearly in fear of Benson, having been

41:00

threatened by him on a number of

41:02

occasions. She said that Benson should

41:05

not have been killed but she asked the

41:07

court to look at the characters of both

41:09

Noble and Hopkins who up till this point

41:11

had never been in trouble with Gardee. Ms

41:14

Kennedy said that this was in stark

41:16

contrast to Derek Benson who had been

41:18

described by his very own mother as,

41:20

quote, violent and evil. Council

41:22

concluded her speech by suggesting that Derek

41:24

Benson was not only a violent man

41:26

with a nasty temper but that he

41:28

was also suspected of child sexual abuse.

41:31

She asked the jury to consider

41:33

how that may have impacted on

41:35

Paul Hopkins' mind given that the

41:37

focus of his life was his

41:39

18-month-old daughter. Jackie

41:41

Noble's defence council, Marielle and Ring

41:43

made a similar plea in her

41:45

closing speech. Ms Ring asserted

41:48

that the killing of Derek Benson

41:50

was one carried out in self-defence.

41:52

Noble, she said, was beaten again and

41:55

again and again for years. She

41:57

had secured bearing orders but the jury was these

42:00

were always breached by Benson. Council

42:02

asked the jury to consider the occasion

42:04

when Benson fractured Noble's ribs in 1997.

42:08

If Noble had struck him and pierced him

42:10

in the heart during this incident, it would

42:12

have been seen as a classic case of

42:15

self-defense. Ms. Ring also

42:17

asked the jury to take Benson's treatment

42:19

of his 13-year-old daughter into consideration when

42:21

he showed her how to shoot a

42:23

heroin. She reminded them of

42:25

the other incidents of abuse against the

42:27

young girl and told them to ask

42:29

themselves how this might have affected Jackie

42:31

Noble. She closed her speech by

42:33

asking the jury to acquit her client of murder.

42:37

After hearing Justice Henry Abbott's charge,

42:39

the jury retired to consider their

42:41

verdict. After seven hours of deliberation,

42:44

the seven men and five women

42:46

returned with a unanimous verdict, finding

42:48

both Paul Hopkins and Jackie Noble

42:51

guilty of murder. Two

42:53

of the female jurors and two of the

42:55

male jurors were visibly upset as the verdict

42:57

was read out. Jackie Noble

42:59

cried with her sisters while supporters of Paul

43:01

Hopkins sobbed at the back of the court.

43:04

Mandatory life sentences were handed down

43:06

to both defendants. After

43:09

the trial, it emerged that much of

43:11

the lengthy legal argument that took place

43:14

during the proceedings was centered around counsel

43:16

for Hopkins and Noble attempting to have

43:18

the defense of provocation considered by the

43:20

jury. However, Mr. Justice

43:22

Henry Abbott ultimately refused to allow the

43:24

jury to consider this avenue. Psychiatric

43:27

and psychological evidence to support Jackie

43:30

Noble's state of mind was also

43:32

ruled inadmissible by the judge. Following

43:35

the sentencing, Mr. Justice Abbott

43:37

refused both Hopkins and Noble

43:39

leave to appeal their sentences.

43:42

According to Ken Fox's book, Revenge, Jackie

43:44

Noble's daughter, Kelly, was not present in

43:46

court to hear the verdict in her

43:48

mother's case as she'd already been taken

43:51

into care and was living with a

43:53

foster family. However, she maintained

43:55

a close bond with Jackie and visited

43:57

her regularly in the Doka Center, where

43:59

she... was imprisoned. A

44:02

number of months after the sentencing,

44:04

Kelly gave an interview to Joe

44:06

Duffy on his LiveLine radio show

44:08

which was broadcast on RT Radio

44:10

1. Throughout the interview,

44:12

the girl referred to Jackie repeatedly

44:14

as Mipur Ma. The

44:16

then 18-year-old Kelly detailed the horrific legacy

44:18

of trauma that her father's abuse had

44:21

had on her life. She

44:23

said that as a child she frequently

44:25

witnessed Benson's explosive violence on her mother

44:27

and that she herself was also

44:29

beaten regularly while her father. The

44:32

young woman went on to tell the radio

44:34

presenter that her life had been destroyed by

44:36

what she called her father's evil and violent

44:38

spirit. She said, quote, I'd hear him

44:41

killing Mipur Ma all the time in the next

44:43

bedroom. I'd lie there with my hands over my

44:45

ears just praying to God he'd stop. He

44:47

bashed me loads of times as well. When I was

44:49

eight, he broke a tennis racket on my chin and

44:52

I had to get eight stitches. Kelly's

44:54

voice trembled as she recalled the horrific violence rained

44:56

down on her and her mother at the hands

44:58

of her father. She insisted,

45:01

quote, my father that she killed was

45:03

an animal. My poor mother is in

45:05

jail now because she tried to protect me from that.

45:08

Unfortunately for Kelly Noble, her troubled background

45:10

would have a far-reaching effect on her

45:13

future. Two years after

45:15

her mother was convicted for murder, Kelly

45:17

found herself in court charged with stabbing

45:19

another young woman to death. Kelly

45:21

was 20 years old at the time and was a

45:23

mother to two young children. In

45:26

the months following her mother's incarceration, Kelly had

45:28

moved to the Seaview estate in Laytown County

45:30

Mead in the hope of making a fresh

45:32

start. She enrolled in school

45:35

locally and made friends with a number

45:37

of teenage girls, including one named Emma

45:39

McLaughlin. Unfortunately things soured

45:41

between the girls, culminating in a

45:43

row at Laytown railway station during

45:45

which a pregnant Emma claimed that

45:47

Kelly Noble kicked her in the

45:49

stomach. The pair had fallen

45:51

out after this and an incident was

45:54

subsequently reported to Gardee when McLaughlin tried

45:56

to attack Noble with a hammer. However,

45:59

their paths hadn't crossed much in the

46:01

years since. According to

46:03

an article written by Sorka Griffith

46:05

for the Irish Independent, on June

46:08

2nd 2006, Kelly Noble was at her

46:10

home with her two children and her

46:12

friend and occasional babysitter, Neve Cullen. The

46:15

women had spent the day together and

46:17

Noble was braiding Cullen's hair as a

46:19

birthday gift when she realised that she

46:21

needed cigarettes along with some other groceries.

46:23

She asked Cullen to watch her daughter

46:25

and headed to the local supermarket, pushing

46:27

her young son in a buggy. While

46:30

inside the supermarket, Noble was approached

46:32

by Emma McLaughlin who started to

46:34

row with her. McLaughlin allegedly punched

46:36

Noble in the nose before being

46:38

asked to leave the shop. It

46:41

was at this point Kelly Noble rang Neve

46:43

Cullen asking her to bring a knife down

46:45

to the shop. Cullen grabbed

46:47

a knife from the kitchen block and put it

46:49

into a child's school bag. By the

46:51

time she arrived at a packed supermarket,

46:53

Cullen said Emma McLaughlin had the exit

46:56

of the shop blocked so that Noble

46:58

couldn't leave the building without passing by

47:00

her. Cullen entered the

47:02

shop handing the school bag to Noble who hung

47:04

it on the back of her son's buggy. Noble

47:07

then took the knife from the bag

47:09

and slipped it up her sleeve. As

47:11

the two women left the shop, McLaughlin

47:13

lunged at Noble who slid the knife

47:15

out and plunged it into McLaughlin's chest

47:17

as Noble's two children looked on, crying.

47:21

Following her arrest, Kelly Noble told Gardee

47:23

that she had no intention of killing

47:25

anyone and that she was afraid of

47:27

getting her head kicked in by McLaughlin.

47:29

She claimed quote, it was self-defense big

47:31

time. Following her trial,

47:33

Kelly Noble was found guilty of manslaughter.

47:36

She was sentenced to 10 years in prison

47:38

which was to be served alongside her mother

47:40

in Mount Joy's prison. However,

47:43

just weeks after her sentencing, she was

47:45

transferred to Limerick prison following a row

47:47

with her mother, Jackie. She

47:49

was eventually returned to Mount Joy a number

47:52

of months later but continued to get into

47:54

trouble over the course of her sentence, attacking

47:56

a prison officer on one occasion and

47:59

preventing officers from seizing a drug-laden orange

48:01

on another. In 2008, Kelly

48:04

had her sentence reduced to eight years

48:06

with the final two suspended. She

48:09

was released just before Christmas in 2010. In 2016,

48:13

she was jailed again, this time for six months,

48:15

after she was found to be carrying a carving

48:17

knife and three Stanley blades in her handbag as

48:20

she went to a christening. Jackie

48:22

Noble, on the other hand, kept her head

48:25

down in prison, earning her temporary release on

48:27

a number of occasions. She

48:29

was formally released at the end of 2017, having served

48:32

a total of 14 years

48:34

for the murder of Berwick Benson.

48:37

Paul Hopkins was freed on license

48:39

before Christmas in 2022. Jackie

48:42

Noble has been frank and open about

48:44

her actions, and following her release, she

48:46

gave an interview to journalist Alison O'Reilly,

48:49

saying she hoped she could now get on with the rest

48:51

of her life and focus on her family. She

48:54

told the journalist, quote, What happened happened?

48:56

I went in for it, and that's the way it is.

48:58

I can't change it. She went on to

49:01

say, quote, I'm glad I'm out. To be honest, I'd

49:03

just like to write a book and get on with

49:05

it. I want to take care of

49:07

my daughter and grandkids and get on with it.

49:14

Thank you for listening to Men's Raya,

49:16

a true crime podcast. You can find

49:18

us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at

49:20

mensrayapod, or you can send

49:22

an email to mensrayapod@gmail.com. Your

49:25

theme music is Quinn's Song, The Dance

49:27

Begins by Kevin MacLeod. Additional music

49:29

is by Juanita Meisel and Kevin MacLeod.

49:32

Thanks as always to our patrons

49:35

for supporting the show. This week's

49:37

episode was researched and written by the

49:39

amazing Aileen Sperin. Additional writing

49:42

and production was by me, your host,

49:44

Sinead. All sources for today's episode

49:46

can be found in the show notes or on

49:48

our website, www.mensrayapod.com.

49:53

And so, till next time, don't

49:55

do anything I wouldn't do. Have

50:19

you ever felt like escaping to your own

50:21

desert island? Jane Gaskin did

50:23

exactly that, trading in the family home

50:25

to begin a new life in the

50:27

tropics. But she soon discovers

50:29

that paradise has its secrets. I'm

50:33

Alice Levine, and this is the Price

50:35

of Paradise. The island

50:37

dream that ends in kidnap,

50:39

corruption, and murder. Wish

50:41

you were here? Follow the Price

50:43

of Paradise now, wherever you listen to

50:45

podcasts.