Eight men and one woman appeared in court today (Friday) for a pre-sentence hearing concerning the January 2019 murder of east Belfast man Ian Ogle.
The 45-year old father-of-two was beaten and stabbed a total of 11 times yards from his Cluan Place home at around 9.20pm on Sunday January 27, 2019.
In February 2024 two men - Jonathan Brown, 39, from Whinney Hill in Dundonald and 46-year old Mark Sewell from Glenmount Drive in Newtownabbey - pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Ogle and were handed life sentences.
Sewell subsequently told a Probation Officer that the deceased ‘lost his life for no reason over a ridiculous argument’ and that ‘nothing will ever bring Ian back’.
Three co-accused denied the charge and stood trial at Belfast Crown Court.
At the conclusion of the lengthy non-jury hearing, the trio were convicted by Mr Justice McFarland last November of murder and were also handed life sentences.
During a pre-sentence hearing today, barristers for all three - Walter Ervine, 43, from Litchfield Street in Belfast, 42-year old Robert Spiers from Millars Park in Dundonald and Glenn Rainey, 38, whose address was given as Ballyhalbert Caravan Park - revealed their clients were appealing their convictions.
Appearing alongside these five men in the dock were four co-accused who all admitted lesser offences linked to the murder.
Christopher Haire, 55, from Killagan Bend in Belfast, 42-year old Jill Morrison from Wolff Close in Belfast and 37-year old Thomas McCartney, also from Wolff Close, all admitted a charge of assisting offenders whilst Reece Kirkwood, 27, from Belvoir Street in Belfast pleaded guilty to withholding information.
As Mr Ogle’s loved ones sat in the public gallery, Mr Justice McFarland told the packed court that he would pass sentence and impose the life sentence tariffs on Wednesday March 19. Prior to this, the senior judge was addressed by a Crown barrister and nine defence barristers.
The prosecuting KC said Mr Ogle’s murder followed over a year of tensions in east Belfast between his family and another group of men which was sparked by a fight in the Prince Albert Bar on July 1, 2017. On the afternoon of January 27, 2019 Mr Ogle had enjoyed a meal at his daughter Toni Johnston’s house.
As they were returning home that evening, both Mr Ogle and his son Ryan Johnston got out of the car on the Beersbridge Road and assaulted a relative of theirs who they felt had failed to intervene in the altercation in the bar in July 2017. The Crown barrister said the victim of the attack, Neil Ogle, then called Brown which “led to a flurry of telephone activity”.
A short time later, a group of five men comprising of Brown, Sewell, Spiers, Ervine and Rainey made their way to Cluan Place where Mr Ogle was standing on the street praying with a local pastor. Just yards from his house, Mr Ogle was attacked and stabbed by the gang in a fatal assault which lasted around 30 seconds.
Saying Spiers and Ervine “armed themselves in advance with a knife and a baton respectively”, the Crown barrister described the attack as “pre-meditated and planned” and that Mr Ogle was “vulnerable as he was substantially outnumbered by the defendants”.
Regarding Morrison, McCartney and Haire the Crown barrister said all three assisted Brown’s escape in the aftermath of the fatal attack.
Morrison, who is Brown’s partner, misled police who came to her door, moved the car used in the attack out of sight and deposited a bag containing clothes, bloodstained trainers and cash.
She also gave the keys to the car to her neighbour McCartney, whilst Haire - who is Brown’s godfather - picked Brown up and enabled his escape. Kirkwood, the prosecutor said, withheld information by “maintaining his silence about what he knew of the events of that night”.
He told the court that Victim Impact Statements written by Mr Ogle’s partner, two children and mother which he said “demonstrate the devastating consequences of the murder on their own health and how acutely the loss of Mr Ogle is felt by them, on a daily basis”.
He added: “They detail the effect on their everyday lives in the close-knit community of that part of east Belfast where the possibility of encountering family members and associates of the defendants persists.”
Mr Justice McFarland was then addressed by defence barristers for all nine defendants. Brown’s barrister said his client had “no knowledge of the knife” and that there was never an intention on his part to kill Mr Ogle.
Saying Brown was remorseful, the KC also spoke of the impact a “lengthy period in custody” is going to have on his family. Sewell’s barrister said his client was also unaware of the presence of the knife and there was no intent to kill.
Citing remorse, the barrister said this was genuine as Sewell told a Probation Officer ‘a man has lost his life for no reason over a ridiculous argument. It’s hard to explain his family’s sorrow. It should never have happened. Nothing will ever bring Ian back’.
Barristers for Rainey, Ervine and Spiers all told Mr Justice McFarland that their clients were appealing their convictions for murder.
The barrister representing Morrison said her conduct was “spontaneous and unplanned” and that she “regrets what she became involved in”.
McCartney’s barrister said that his offending was “at the lower end of the spectrum” of assisting offenders. Regarding Haire, his barrister said his involvement was “spontaneous” and that when he was “contacted unexpectedly” by Brown, he “knew nothing of what had taken place when he set off to help him”.
The last defence barrister to address the court said there was no evidence that the information withheld by his client Kirkwood “impacted adversely on the criminal investigation in his case”.
Following today’s hearing, Mr Justice McFarland said he would impose the tariffs and sentences on Wednesday March 19.
He added: “The five men convicted of murder will be returned to custody to continue to serve out their life sentences. The other defendants will be released on continuing bail. The fact that they are released should give them no indication as to the sentence that will be imposed on Wednesday week.”
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