The King v Thomas Rainey
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | O'Hara J |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NICC 22 |
| Date | 05 July 2023 |
| Court | Crown Court (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2023] NICC 22
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: OHA12222
ICOS No: 22/073537
Delivered: 5/07/2023
IN THE CROWN COURT IN NORTHERN IRELAND
SITTING IN BELFAST
___________
THE KING
V
THOMAS RAINEY
___________
Mr R Weir KC with Mr R Connell (instructed by Public Prosecution Service) for the
Crown
Mr G Berry KC with Mr S Devine (instructed by J J McNally and Co Solicitors) for the
Defendant
___________
O’HARA J
Introduction
[1] The defendant was arraigned on 11 November 2022 on the single count of the
murder of Katrina Rainey, his wife. On that date he pleaded not guilty but it was
made clear that he accepted responsibility for killing her and was awaiting a
psychiatric report. That report from Dr Bunn dated 2 May 2023 led to the defendant
being rearraigned and pleading guilty to murder on 12 May 2023. On that date I
imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
[2] The next and final step for me is to decide on the minimum number of years
which the defendant must serve in jail before his release is even considered by the
Parole Commissioners. In this task I have been assisted by the helpful written and
oral submissions of counsel for which I am grateful. I have also been aided by a pre-
sentence report from Mr Doyle of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland which
has also been helpful.
The murder
[3] On 12 October 2021 at approximately 05.42 am the Fire and Rescue Service
received a report of a fire at an address in Knockloughrim, County Derry. When the
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