We didn't lose Gareth.. Christina Anderson took him

Victim's partner tells of family's torment

- EOIN REYNOLDS

THE family of a dad who was stabbed to death have called for justice saying his killer destroyed their lives.

Gareth Kelly, 38, had never met 41-year-old Christina Anderson before she knifed him five times in February 2020.

At a sentencing hearing yesterday his partner Maria Murphy said: "We didn't lose Gareth, she took him.

"She caused us all this pain. Our kids will never see their daddy again and he will never see his kids again, never read them stories or watch a movie, get a pizza, have parties or see his kids grow up.

"He never had a chance to walk any of his daughters down the aisle.

Anderson, of Brownsbarn Wood, Kingswood, Dublin 22, attacked Mr Kelly as he tried to start his car outside her home at about 7am.

She was initially charged with murder and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

MANSLAUGHTER

In January, the DPP accepted a plea of guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility due to a mental disorder.

In a statement read out yesterday by prosecutor Pat McGrath, Mr Kelly's mother Noeleen Kelly said there are "no words to explain the loss and heartache I feel right now".