Case No. 2125Murder · Co. Dublin · 9 May 2022
Brian McHugh sentenced to life for murder of Lisa Thompson in Ballymun
Brian McHugh, 40, was found guilty of murdering his former lover Lisa Thompson, 52, who was strangled with a window blind cord and stabbed 11 times in the chest at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11, on 9 May 2022. McHugh, who had 50 previous convictions, pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court, where a three-week trial presented DNA evidence from the blind cord and jewellery, CCTV footage placing him near the scene, and the discovery of nearly €50,000 in prescription tablets in Thompson's attic. A 12-person jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after just over three hours of deliberation on 27 February 2025. On 10 March 2025, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor sentenced McHugh to the mandatory term of life imprisonment, backdated to 11 July 2022.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Convicted27 Feb
3 reports - Sentenced10 Mar
2 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Lisa Thompson, 52, was strangled with a window blind cord and stabbed 11 times in the chest, six of which penetrated her heart, at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11, on 9 May 2022.
- Brian McHugh, 40, had a romantic relationship with Thompson in the year before her death.
- Thompson was dealing prescription drugs from her home, and Gardaí found thousands of tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in her attic.
- Cause
- Thompson died from a combination of ligature strangulation causing asphyxia and multiple stab wounds to the left side of the chest.
- Weapon
- A window blind cord was used for strangulation and a knife for the 11 stab wounds.
- Investigation
- A blood-stained blind cord wrapped around Thompson's neck contained a mixed DNA profile for which McHugh could not be excluded as a minor contributor, and DNA from jewellery found in McHugh's home matched Thompson's.
- CCTV showed McHugh near Thompson's home between 1.25am and 2.50am on 9 May 2022, and he made no comment to Gardaí when asked to account for his presence.
- Charges
- McHugh pleaded not guilty to murdering Thompson at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11, on 9 May 2022.
- In court
- A 12-person jury at the Central Criminal Court took just over three hours to unanimously find McHugh guilty after a three-week trial.
- Sentence
- On 10 March 2025, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor sentenced McHugh to the mandatory term of life imprisonment, backdated to 11 July 2022.
- Other details
- McHugh had 50 previous convictions including 20 for theft and burglary, five for robbery, eight for drug offences, two for possession of knives, and one for criminal damage.
- Thompson's children were 12 and 13 years old when she was killed.
71 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThompson was found with 11 stab wounds to her chest and a bloodstained cord wrapped around her neck. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThompson was dealing prescription drugs from her home. (irishtimes.com)
- whatA blood-stained window blind cord found wrapped around the deceased's neck contained McHugh's DNA. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe prosecution argued McHugh could be seen on CCTV footage near Ms Thompson's home on the night of the killing. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMs Thompson was stabbed 11 times in the chest. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMs Thompson was dealing prescription drugs from her home. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMs Thompson and McHugh had a romantic relationship in the year before she died. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatGardaí searching Ms Thompson's home found thousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in her attic. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMs Thompson was found inside the rear door of her home with multiple stab wounds to her chest and a window blind cord wrapped around her neck. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMcHugh told gardai he had been in and out of Ms Thompson's house for the last three years when asked to account for his DNA on the cord. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatA forensic scientist said the blind cord contained a mixed DNA profile for which McHugh could not be excluded as a minor contributor. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDNA recovered from jewellery found in the defendant's home matched that of Ms Thompson. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMcHugh made no comment to gardai when asked to account for his presence at Sandyhill Gardens between 1.25am and 2.50am on 9 May 2022 as depicted on CCTV. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe prosecution argued McHugh could be seen on CCTV footage near the victim's home on the night of the killing. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatLisa Thompson was stabbed 11 times in the chest. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatLisa Thompson was dealing prescription drugs from her home. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThompson and McHugh had a romantic relationship in the year before her death. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatGardaí found thousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in Thompson's attic. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThompson was found inside the rear door of her home with multiple stab wounds and a window blind cord around her neck. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatMcHugh told gardai he had been in and out of Thompson's house for the last three years to explain his DNA on the cord. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe blind cord contained a mixed DNA profile for which McHugh could not be excluded as a minor contributor. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatDNA recovered from jewellery found in McHugh's home matched that of Lisa Thompson. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatMcHugh made no comment to gardai when asked to account for his presence at the scene. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatLisa Thompson was strangled with a blind cord and stabbed to death in her own home. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whatGardaí found thousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in Ms Thompson's attic. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMs Thompson was found with 11 stab wounds to her chest and the blood-stained cord wrapped around her neck. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatSix of the stab wounds had penetrated her heart and two went through and through. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe blind cord contained McHugh's DNA. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whatMcHugh could be seen on CCTV footage near Ms Thompson's home on the night of the killing. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMcHugh told gardai he had been in and out of Ms Thompson's house for the last three years. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDNA recovered from jewellery found in McHugh's home matched that of Ms Thompson. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatA named woman sent McHugh a text saying 'I could of been like Lisa today strangle n stab'. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatOther texts from the named woman included 'Murder Lisa n al' and 'Move the knife did u'. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe pair of runners seized by gardai from McHugh had no blood on them. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whatMs Thompson's children were 12 and 13 years of age when their mother was murdered. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatLisa Thompson was found with 11 stab wounds to her chest (dublinlive.ie)
- whatSix of the stab wounds had penetrated her heart (dublinlive.ie)
- whatMcHugh had 50 previous convictions (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 were found hidden in Thompson's attic (dublinlive.ie)
- whatDNA recovered from jewellery found in McHugh's home matched Thompson's (dublinlive.ie)
- whatMcHugh and Thompson had a romantic relationship in the year before her death (dublinlive.ie)
- whatA named woman sent McHugh a text saying 'I could of been like Lisa today strangle n stab' over a month after Thompson was found dead (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe named woman also sent texts saying 'Murder Lisa n al' and 'Move the knife did u' in June 2022 (dublinlive.ie)
- whereMcHugh has an address at Cairn Court, Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11. (irishtimes.com)
- whereBrian McHugh has an address at Cairn Court, Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe murder took place at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe murder occurred at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11, on 9 May 2022. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereMcHugh had an address at Cairn Court, Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe murder occurred on 9 May 2022. (dublinlive.ie)
- whenCCTV showed McHugh near Thompson's home between 1.25am and 2.50am on 9 May 2022 (dublinlive.ie)
- causeMs Thompson died from a combination of ligature strangulation causing asphyxia and multiple stab wounds to the left side of the chest. (irishmirror.ie)
- causeThompson died from a combination of ligature strangulation causing asphyxia and multiple stab wounds to the left side of the chest. (dublinlive.ie)
- courtMcHugh pleaded not guilty to murdering Thompson at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11 on 9 May 2022. (irishtimes.com)
- courtMcHugh was remanded in custody until the sentencing date. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe jury took just over three hours to return the guilty verdict. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtDefence counsel Brendan Grehan SC argued Ms Thompson was a woman of secrets and there was more to her killing than would appear on the surface. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtProsecution counsel Fiona Murphy SC said the prosecution had meticulously presented a tapestry of circumstantial evidence. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe jury took just over three hours to return a guilty verdict. (dublinlive.ie)
- courtDefence counsel Brendan Grehan SC argued Thompson was a 'woman of secrets' with more to her killing than appeared on the surface. (dublinlive.ie)
- courtProsecution counsel Fiona Murphy SC described the case as a 'tapestry of circumstantial evidence' painting a 'compelling picture' of guilt. (dublinlive.ie)
- courtThe jury took just over three hours to unanimously find McHugh guilty. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtA pre-trial ruling excluded CCTV recognition evidence, which was overturned by the Court of Appeal. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMs Justice Karen O'Connor presided over the sentencing. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe sentencing took place at the Central Criminal Court (dublinlive.ie)
- courtA 12-person jury took just over three hours to find McHugh guilty (dublinlive.ie)
- courtThe trial lasted three weeks (dublinlive.ie)
- sentenceBrian McHugh was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe sentence was backdated to 11 July 2022, when McHugh went into custody. (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceMcHugh was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment (dublinlive.ie)
- sentenceThe sentence was backdated to 11 July 2022 (dublinlive.ie)
- otherMcHugh has 50 previous convictions including 20 for theft and burglary, five for robbery, eight for drug offences, two for possession of knives and one for criminal damage. (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 10 Mar2025Daughter of murdered Dublin woman says injuries were 'like in horror movies'
Sentencing hearing with three victim impact statements; details of the murder method, trial evidence including DNA and CCTV, McHugh's 50 previous convictions, and text messages from a named woman referencing the killing.
victim, Lisa Thompson, 52, female, irish (judged from name)Lisa Thompsonconvicted, Brian McHugh, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Brian McHugh - 10 Mar2025Daughter of murdered Lisa Thompson says injuries were 'like in horror movies'
Adds the full content of three victim impact statements (daughter, son, sister Ashley Duckett), details of McHugh's 50 previous convictions, trial evidence including €50,000 in prescription tablets, DNA on the blind cord, CCTV footage, text messages from a named woman, the jury's 3-hour-24-minute deliberation, the pre-trial ruling on CCTV recognition evidence overturned by the Court of Appeal, the judge's remarks, and comments from friends outside court.
victim, Lisa Thompson, 52, female, irish (judged from name)Lisa Thompsonconvicted, Brian McHugh, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Brian McHugh - 27 Feb2025Man found guilty of murder of Dublin mum-of-two Lisa Thompson
Reports the guilty verdict from the Central Criminal Court jury, detailing forensic evidence (DNA on blind cord, DNA on jewellery, CCTV footage), the cause of death, defence arguments, and prosecution closing submissions.
victim, Lisa Thompson, 52, female, irish (judged from name)Lisa Thompsonsuspect, Brian McHugh, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Brian McHugh - 27 Feb2025Jury finds Brian McHugh guilty of murdering mum-of-two Lisa Thompson
Reports the guilty verdict returned by the jury after just over three hours of deliberation, with details of the forensic DNA evidence, CCTV footage, and closing arguments from both prosecution and defence.
victim, Lisa Thompson, 52, female, irish (judged from name)Lisa Thompsonsuspect, Brian McHugh, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Brian McHugh - 27 Feb2025Man found guilty of murdering Lisa Thompson in her Dublin home
Reports the guilty verdict after a three-hour jury deliberation, including details of the forensic evidence (DNA on the blind cord, DNA from jewellery, CCTV), the discovery of prescription drugs in the attic, and the judge's comments to the family.
victim, Lisa Thompson, 52, female, irish (judged from name)Lisa Thompsonsuspect, Brian McHugh, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Brian McHugh