King v Samuel Atcheson and Stephen Hunter
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | McBride J |
| Judgment Date | 02 May 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NICC 11 |
| Court | Crown Court (Northern Ireland) |
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Neutral Citation No: [2023] NICC 11
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: McB12135
ICOS No: 21/079250
Delivered: 02/05/2023
IN THE CROWN COURT OF NORTHERN IRELAND
SITTING AT LAGANSIDE COURTHOUSE
___________
THE KING
v
SAMUEL ATCHESON
and
STEPHEN HUNTER
___________
Mr C Murphy KC with Mr R Steer (instructed by the Public Prosecution Service) for the
Crown
Mr C MacCreanor KC with Mr M Farrell (instructed by Reid Black Solicitors) for the
First Named Defendant
Mr J Kearney KC with Ms McAuley (instructed by McCrudden & Trainor Solicitors) for
the Second Named Defendant
___________
SENTENCING REMARKS
___________
McBRIDE J
Introduction
[1] On 24 June 2022, Stephen Hunter (“the second defendant”) pleaded guilty to
the murder of Donald Harold Fraser-Rennie, contrary to common law and on
9 January 2023, Samuel Atcheson (“the first defendant”) pleaded guilty to his
murder, contrary to common law on a basis of plea.
[2] You have each been sentenced to life imprisonment which is the only sentence
permitted by law for murder. It is now my role to fix a minimum term or tariff
which you each must serve before you will be eligible to be considered for release by
the Parole Commissioners.
[3] I held a sentencing hearing on 17 April 2023, and I have carefully listened to
the pleas in mitigation made on your behalf. I wish to acknowledge the
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comprehensive and carefully measured and considered oral and written
submissions made by Mr MacCreanor KC on behalf of Mr Atcheson and by
Mr Kearney KC on behalf of Mr Hunter and by Mr C Murphy KC on behalf of the
Crown. Those submissions were of much assistance to the court in its deliberations.
The Deceased
[4] The deceased, Donald Harold Fraser-Rennie, was born on 27 November 1986.
He was aged 33 at the time of his death. He originally lived in England but then
moved to Northern Ireland where he lived with his partner, Mary Cotton. Together
they had two children and although separated at the time of the deceased’s death
they were residing together with their two children at 146A Dunclurg Gardens,
Ballymena. The deceased also had an adult daughter.
[5] I have read the moving statement made by Mary Cotton, dated 23 January
2023 in which she eloquently sets out the devastating impact the deceased’s death
has had upon her and her children. She has lost a partner and has now had to
struggle as a single parent. The children have lost a much loved father and have to
face the future without his presence, support, and guidance.
[6] The matters set out in this statement are matters I will consider when
determining the appropriate sentence for each defendant but, as has been said
before, no term of imprisonment can equate to or restore human life, nor can it
alleviate the profound grief, pain and loss the deceased’s family now have to live
with on a daily basis.
Background
[7] On the afternoon of Tuesday 29 September 2020 both defendants and the
deceased purchased/stole alcohol at a Tesco Supermarket in Ballymena. They then
returned to Mr Atcheson’s flat at 5D Crebilly Road, Ballymena, where they all
consumed alcohol. The deceased was not previously known to Mr Hunter , but he
was known to Mr Atcheson as they had become friends when they had both resided
in the Simon Community Hostel in Ballymena.
[8] The flat at 5D Crebilly Road, Ballymena, is a first-floor apartment consisting
of a living room in which there was a double bed, a main bedroom, a bathroom, and
a kitchen.
[9] After the men returned to the flat, for reasons which are unclear, both
defendants subjected the deceased to an unmerciful beating which caused his death.
Phone records between Mr Atcheson and his former girlfriend show that there was
some hostility between Mr Atcheson and the deceased perhaps relating to an
allegation that the deceased had stolen money and/or medication from him.
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