A man who murdered his ex-girlfriend's baby son must serve an increased minimum of 16 years in prison, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.
Senior judges held that the original 13-year tariff on Sharyar Ali's life sentence for killing Hunter McGleenon in Keady, Co Armagh was unduly lenient.
Based on medical evidence, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan declared that the 11-month-old child had been subjected to "gratuitous violence". The verdict came in a challenge by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to the jail term initially imposed.
Hunter died as a result of non-accidental injuries to his head and abdomen in November 2019. Ali, with an address at Westenra Terrace in Monaghan, had been in a relationship with the little boy's mother Nicole and was looking after him while she visited her dying grandmother.
He initially claimed the child fell off a low sofa and struck his head on a concrete floor, but pleaded guilty to murder last year as he was about to go on trial. Pathology reports established that Hunter had been subjected to a forceful assault, which involved a severe head injury and bruising attributed to multiple blunt blows.
Although Ali never explained how the wounds were sustained, he told police that he had slapped or shaken the infant as part of resuscitation attempts. During interviews the Pakistani national also accepted leaving the Hunter unattended in a car while he spent two hours in a casino. Ali's tariff was originally set at 13 years following a so-called 'Rooney' hearing where the sentence was indicated if he made admissions.
Counsel for the PPS argued that he had received too much credit for his previous clear record, while insufficient weight was given to the aggravating features in the "overwhelming case" against him. The killing of Hunter was described as being among the most serious homicides imaginable. Backing those submissions, the court held that the trial judge overestimated mitigation and adopted the wrong starting point in the sentencing process.
Quashing the original sentence, Lady Chief Justice Keegan imposed a revised tariff of 16 years which Ali must serve in jail before he can apply to the Parole Commissioners for possible release on life licence. As relatives of the victim in the public gallery applauded the ruling, Dame Siobhan finished by acknowledging their bereavement.
She said: "We conclude this judgment by recognising the great loss Ms McGleenon and her family have suffered because of the murder of Hunter. No sentence will change that."
