Judge Slams Murderers Lack Of Remorse

A judge has today concluded that three of the four men he convicted of the brutal sectarian murder of a Catholic schoolboy displayed "no clear evidence of remorse or contrition".

Almost three years after his death of 15-year-old Michael McIlveen, four Ballymena men were jailed today for a collective total of 45 years for the murder.

Sentencing the four men at Antrim Crown Court, Judge Seamus Treacy said a "lethal cocktail of drugs, drink, youth and sectarianism" provided the context for the schoolboy's brutal murder.

Michael was beaten with a baseball bat and kicked around 60 times in an alley in Ballymena in 2006.

Today at Antrim Crown Court, Christopher Francis Kerr, 22, of Carnduff Drive, was jailed for a minimum of 13 years, Jeff Colin Lewis (20) of Rossdale and Aaron Cavana Wallace, 20, of Moat Road were each jailed for 11 years, and Mervyn Wilson Moon, 20, was jailed for 10 years for murder.

Lewis, Kerr and Wallace were all convicted of murder following a lengthy trial. Moon had pleaded guilty to murder at the start of the trial in September 2008.

The judge imposed the highest sentence on Kerr, stating that he had gone to "considerable trouble" to secure the baseball bat which was used in the attack and that he had particularly "indicated no remorse" for his role in the murder and has failed to accept any responsibility.

He added that in the case of Lewis and Wallace, there is "no clear evidence of remorse or contrition" either, but said that Moon, however, had demonstrated remorse.

Three other Ballymena men were also in the dock for sentencing in connection with the murder.

Christopher Andrew McLeister of Knock Crescent, who was found guilty of manslaughter, received a three-year sentence, suspended for two years.

Paul Edward David Henson of Condiere Avenue was sentenced to nine months for affray and criminal damage, and Peter McMullan, 18, from Meadowvale in the town received a conditional discharge after he admitted a charge of criminal damage.

See: Guilty Verdict For Killers Of Ballymena Schoolboy