A DECISION not to hold an inquest into the death of a Limerick father of two who was stabbed to death in Manchester has left his family without answers, they have said.
Thomas Murphy (42), originally from Ballyagran in County Limerick, was stabbed 34 times at a house he shared on Beverly Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, on September 24, 2022.
Last October, his housemate, Stephen Owusu (23), was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order at Manchester Crown Court.
Mr Owusu pleaded guilty to Mr Murphy’s manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility last August, when Manchester Crown Court heard he was stabbed to death by Mr Owusu, who said he thought Mr Murphy had deliberately broken a plate in their shared flat.
After stabbing Mr Murphy, Mr Owusu went to bed, the court heard.
Speaking at his brother’s killer’s sentencing hearing, Mr Murphy’s brother said his family were told that any questions they had about Thomas’ death could be answered when the case went to inquest in Manchester.
However, the Murphy family have said they have been informed by the authorities that no inquest will be held.
“We were told that we would get answers in an inquest. Now there is no answers,” Darragh Murphy told the Irish Examiner.
The Murphys are currently seeking legal advice from a UK-based team in the hope that they can have the decision reversed.
Mr Murphy worked in telecommunications in Manchester for many years but regularly returned to Ballyagran to visit his family.
In his victim impact statement, read in court, Darragh Murphy said: “I’m struggling day to day, night to night. Every night when I close my eyes I think of everything. How alone Tom was as he died. How helpless he was dying.”
Mr Owusu can only be released from a secure unit following assessments from the British secretary of state for justice or following a tribunal.
