A 17-year-old boy has been handed a life sentence with a review to take place after thirteen years for the murder of a woman in the IFSC district.
The boy, who can’t be named because of his age, was due to be sentenced a few weeks ago, but it was adjourned after the court identified shortcomings in the law.
The boy was just 14 years old when he stabbed Urantsetseg Tserendorj, 49, as she made her way home from work just over two years ago.
He stood trial twice for her murder. The first jury was unable to reach agreement but he was convicted following a retrial.
Unlike in adult cases, there’s no mandatory life sentence in murder cases involving child offenders and while Mr J Tony Hunt was minded to hand down a life sentence, he wanted to build in a review of his sentence after thirteen years.
However, due to what he described previously as “a yawning gap” in the legislation, he feared the review judge could be restrained when it comes to alternative options.
Today, he said he was encouraged by ministerial and departmental statements made since the sentence hearing. Last week, the Minister for Justice said planned changes to the law would maximise those alternative sentencing options.
With that in mind, he handed down a life sentence with a review to take place in 2034 when the boy will be 28 years old.
Reporting by Frank Greaney
