Man found guilty of murder of Lisa Thompson in 2022, The trial had also heard that gardaí searching Ms Thompson’s home found thousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in her attic.

Updated / Thursday, 27 Feb 2025 20:10

Legal Affairs Correspondent

A 40-year-old man has been found guilty of the murder of a woman in her home in Ballymun in Dublin almost three years ago.

A jury took almost three and a half hours to find Brian McHugh of Cairn Court, Poppintree in Ballymun, guilty of murdering 52-year-old Lisa Thompson in May 2022.

Ms Thompson’s body was found in her house at Sandyhill Gardens in Ballymun on 10 May 2022 after neighbours became concerned.

She had been stabbed 11 times in the chest and a window blind cord was wrapped around her neck.

McHugh’s DNA was found on the blood-stained cord and he was seen in the early hours of the morning of 9 May 2022, approaching Ms Thompson’s house.

The trial heard evidence that Ms Thompson had been dealing prescription drugs from her home and that she and McHugh had what was described as “a bit of a fling” in the year before she died.

The court also heard text messages sent from another named woman to McHugh in June 2022, one of which said “I could have been like Lisa strangle n stab” at a time when details of the strangulation injuries had not been released publicly.

The woman also said she was going to gardaí.

The jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict after just under three and a half hours of deliberation.

Ms Justice Karen O’Connor expressed her condolences to Lisa’s mother Bernadette and her sister Ashley, who were in court.

She said they had behaved in an extremely dignified fashion and had honoured the memory of their daughter and sister.

McHugh will be sentenced to the mandatory term of life in prison on 10 March.