Man sentenced over manslaughter of Victor Hamilton

A man has been sentenced in connection to the manslaughter of County Antrim man Victor Hamilton.

The 63-year-old's body was discovered in the driveway outside his house in Orkney Drive in the Ballykeel area of Ballymena in July 2022.

Mamadu Saido Djalo (32) from Derryveen Crescent in Dungannon, County Tyrone, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and was handed a six year sentence, divided between prison and licence.

Mario Menezes (35) from Portmore Street in Portadown and Michael Hanrahan (43) of Thomas Street in Craigavon, County Armagh, both admitted a charge of withholding information and were given a sentence of two years, divided between prison and licence.

The man suspected of carrying out the fatal knife attack was named in court as Casemiro Sano Lopez Vaz.

He fled to his native Portugal in the aftermath of Mr Hamilton's death and, due to Portuguese legislation, has not been extradited to face a murder charge.

As Mr Hamilton's three sisters sat in the public gallery, Mr Justice O'Hara addressed them and said: "I cannot punish the defendants who are in court today more harshly to make up for the fact that the killer is not here.

"He has escaped, for now at least, but hopefully not for good."

Expressing the hope that a change in law could result in Mr Vaz "being brought before these courts for justice", the senior judge said: "Even if that happens, I recognise that nothing that has happened in this court today or may happen in the future can ever bring back your brother."

Belfast Crown Court heard that two days before Mr Hamilton's death, the flat of a woman who lived in the same apartment block was burgled and a quantity of cocaine and cash stolen.

At the time, she was in a relationship with Djalo and she blamed another male neighbour who lived in the apartment block for the burglary.

As a result of the break-in, the woman messaged the neighbour she suspected and told him if he didn't return Djalo's items he "wouldn't be walking for much longer."

On the evening of 26 July 2022, Djalo and drove three friends to the Ballykeel area of Ballymena.

Mr Vaz was a front seat passenger, Menezes and Hanrahan were in the back seat.

After arriving at Orkney Drive, both Djalo and Mr Vaz got out of the car and approached the block of flats.

Hanrahan and Menezes remained in the the vehicle - the latter of whom smoked a cigarette laced with crack cocaine.

The prosecuting barrister said Djalo's intention was to retrieve items and he brought others as a "show of strength".

Mr Hamilton came out of the flats and after a brief struggle between himself and Mr Vaz, he fell to the ground.

Both Djalo and Mr Vaz got back in the car and left the area.

Mr Justice O'Hara commented they were "in and out...in less than four minutes".

As they made their way from Ballymena, Mr Vaz said in Portuguese "I cut a man".

The prosecutor said an autopsy concluded Mr Hamilton died from a stab wound to the chest and also had an injury to the left side of his head.

Djalo was arrested on 28 July at his partner's flat. Prior to his apprehension, he tried to evade arrest by jumping from a first floor window.

When cautioned, Djalo told police: "I swear I haven't done that. Listen, we go right now and I will show you who done it. It wasn't me. We need to go right now to Portadown."

Over the course of 22 interviews carried out over four days, Djalo gave no reply to most questions. He did, however, deny murdering Mr Hamilton and named Mr Vaz.

The prosecutor said Djalo's plea to manslaughter - was accepted on the grounds he did not know Mr Vaz was armed with a knife and he had "no animosity" towards the deceased.

Menezes and Hanrahan both denied being involved during interview but subsequently guilty to withholding information.

The prosecutor said there were several aggravating factors, including the fact that Mr Hamilton was left lying in the street and was not found until the following morning.

Defence barrister representing Djalo, said Mr Hamilton was an "entirely innocent victim" and her client has expressed remorse.

They added that he did not know about the knife, "was not involved in the struggle" and was co-operative with police.

Menezes's barrister said it was accepted he didn't provide any information to police but this was because he was "frightened of" Mr Vaz.

Meanwhile, Hanrahan's barrister said he lived a "nomadic existence", had limited involvement in the incident and had apologised the family.

The judge said due to time already served, Djalo will be released "during the coming summer."

Menezes and Hamilton, who have also spent time in prison, are both eligible for release due to time served.