Man who dragged uncle's dead body to get pension given 'benefit of doubt'
A man who dragged his uncle's body to the post office in a shocking attempt to collect his pension should be given the 'benefit of the doubt', a family member has claimed.
Declan Haughney's effort claim Peadar Doyle's €246 (£211) payment on January 21 last year resulted in police being called and the 66-year-old being declared dead on the premises, Belfast Live reports. He walked free from prison last Friday, just one week after being sentenced to two years in jail with six months suspended for the attempted deception in Carlow, Ireland.
The 41-year-old was released due to time already served and remission, and it is believed he is being taken back into the fold by his extended family. Carlow Circuit Criminal Court heard last week how Haughney, who has 55 previous convictions, and his pal Gareth Coakley dragged Peadar Doyle to Hosey's post office.
But they were spotted by onlookers who confronted the pair on the street, where Haughney said of the pensioner: "he’s grand". Garda Joe O’Keeffe told the court it "all kicked off" when Haughney – who had tried earlier that day to get Mr Doyle’s pension – told the shocked post office teller: "He’s dead now and it’s your fault. If you had paid me he wouldn’t be here."
He confirmed the State was not making the case that Mr Doyle was dead in the house, and the State could not say when he had died. It was accepted by Coakley’s defence it was likely Mr Doyle was dead "or at the very least he’s incapacitated" when he entered the post office. But speaking out after the trial, members of Mr Doyle’s family have said they believe Peadar was alive when he was brought from his house to the post office on January 21 last year - as one said they are willing to give Haughney the 'benefit of the doubt' over his condition.
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The late pensioner’s niece, who did not want to be named, told the Carlow Nationalist: "As unhappy and hurt as we are, we are not in a position to condemn him [Declan] for taking him [Peadar] out of the house dead. There is absolutely no evidence that he did that. There is no evidence to call him a liar."
Mr Doyle’s brother-in-law Liam Dowling, who is Declan’s uncle, said: "If there is no proof to the other side, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt." But the pensioner's niece said despite the hurt caused they never considered disowning Declan, who the court heard had a "long-standing addiction to heroin".
She added: "It wouldn’t be morally correct. We have those morals, we are dignified people... stand by the truth. We are not the type of family to condemn someone by what someone says unfounded, just because it’s popular and looks better for us."
In her victim impact statement to Carlow Circuit Court last week, the deceased’s sister Noeleen Dowling said the family had been "doubly affected by the tragedy of Peadar’s passing". She said the hurt had been compounded by St Patrick’s Day parade floats parodying the events surrounding the pensioner’s death.
She told the court: "Peadar was paraded down the street in the most despicable way on our national holiday. He was ridiculed on national television, morning shows and radio shows. "He was reduced to a macabre spectacle and his dignity was stripped from him." Ms Dowling said members of the family had been trolled on social media and had isolated themselves in their homes as a result of the incident, adding: "I have been deeply hurt.
"I have lost my brother and I am grieving, and this pain will probably never leave me. We are hurt that Declan didn’t raise the alarm sooner when he realised that Peadar was taking a turn. That is ultimately why we are here in this situation. Peadar was the most caring and loving brother I could ever have wished for. He was a charismatic and compassionate character. He made an immense impact on our hearts."
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