Man admits to killing dad-of-three
TRIBUTE: Raymond Bates victim of road rage attack. Sisters Denise Brunwell and Karen bates.
A GRIEVING family travelled to an Irish court to see the road rage killer of a much-loved dad finally admit his guilt.
Karl Donohoe, 30, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Peterlee construction worker Raymond Bates in September 2010 on the day he was set to stand trial for murder.
Raymond, 49, who had been in Ireland working on a gas pipeline, was beaten about the head with a hurley stick after a row in a leafy south Dublin suburb.
He died in hospital four days later.
Some of his relatives, including wife Brenda, 49, were in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin expecting to see Donohoe go on trial for murder yesterday.
But he entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge of manslaughter and Mr Justice Paul Carney remanded him in custody until he is sentenced on April 16.
Isobel Kennedy, senior counsel for the State, had said Donohoe’s plea to manslaughter was acceptable to the prosecution.
Senior counsel for Donohoe, Brendan Grehan, said his client wanted to take the opportunity to apologise to the Bates family, who were swamped by messages of sympathy after he died on September 30.
“He said it was a moment of madness on his part and he is sorry for his actions,” Mr Grehan added.
Raymond was attacked in the Sandymount area of the capital on September 26.
Both Raymond and Donohoe had driven away from the scene before a witness reported the assault to the Garda, the Republic of Ireland police force.
Raymond went to St Vincent’s Hospital the following day after becoming unwell, and was transferred to Beaumont Hospital where he fell into a coma before losing his fight for life.
Donohoe, a crane worker from Tyrellstown, west Dublin, was arrested and initially charged with assault causing serious harm.
The Director of Public Prosecutions later ordered that he should be charged with murder.
Brenda had just arrived back at the couple’s Dinting Close, Peterlee, home after a girls’ holiday in Benidorm when she got a call to say her husband was in hospital.
By the time she could get a flight, Raymond’s condition had worsened and he was already in a coma when she arrived with her three sons.
Raymond, who also has one grandchild, died two days later on September 30.
Brenda, who works as a childminder, told the Mail shorty after Raymond’s death: “He was a lovely man and was the best dad. I couldn’t have asked for a better husband.
“I have been with him since I was 15 or 16 and he has always provided everything I’ve ever wanted.
“He loved life, his family and he loved animals.”
Brenda, who could not get her husband’s body home for a funeral for four weeks, said the people of Ireland had been “fantastic” and had sent cards and gifts from across the sea.
Raymond, who went by the nickname Ginger, leaves behind sons Paul, 29, Mark, 27 and Karl, 24, and Paul’s two-year-old son, Leon.
He also has three sisters, Denise Brunwell, 49, Karen Bates, 41, Julie Taylor, 47, and a brother, Gary, 51.
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Weather for Peterlee
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
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Sunny spells
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