Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 1898Assisting an offender (impeding prosecution) · Co. Dublin · 9 May 2022

HSE addiction counsellor Deirdre Arnold found guilty of being getaway driver in Lisa Thompson murder

Brian McHugh, 40, a man, murdered woman Lisa Thompson, 52, by strangling her with a blind cord and inflicting 11 stab wounds in her home at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin, on 9 May 2022. Deirdre Arnold, 42, a woman and HSE addiction counsellor who was then McHugh's partner, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury on 8 April 2025 of assisting an offender after waiting outside Thompson's home for over an hour before driving McHugh away and checking him into the Clayton Hotel near Dublin Airport. McHugh was sentenced to life imprisonment on 10 March 2025. Arnold, a mother of three and sole financial support for her family, was remanded on continuing bail until 20 June 2025 for sentencing.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Convicted8 Apr
    2 reports
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • Brian McHugh, 40, a man, murdered Lisa Thompson, 52, a woman and mother of two, by strangling her with a blind cord and inflicting 11 stab wounds to her chest, six of which penetrated her heart.
  • Deirdre Arnold, 42, a woman and HSE addiction counsellor, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury on two counts of assisting an offender (impeding prosecution).
  • Arnold waited outside Thompson's home for over an hour before driving McHugh away and checking him into the Clayton Hotel near Dublin Airport to help him evade prosecution.
  • A fingerprint on a jewellery valuation certificate found in Arnold's vehicle on 17 May 2022 was linked to Thompson and matched Arnold's right middle finger.
  • Text messages from a number linked to Arnold to McHugh in June 2022 included references to strangulation, stabbing, and "Murder Lisa n al".
  • Gardaí searching Thompson's house found thousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in the attic.
  • Thompson and McHugh had a romantic relationship in the year before her death, and Arnold had made domestic abuse complaints and obtained an interim barring order against McHugh.
Where
The murder took place at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin.
When
The murder occurred on 9 May 2022.
In court
  • The 11 jurors took five hours and 33 minutes over two days to unanimously reject the defence case on 8 April 2025.
  • Mr Justice McGrath remanded Arnold on continuing bail until 20 June 2025 for sentencing.
Sentence
Brian McHugh was sentenced to life imprisonment on 10 March 2025 for the murder.
Other details
Arnold is a mother of three and the sole financial support for her family.
29 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatDeirdre Arnold, 42, an HSE addiction counsellor, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe jury unanimously rejected the defence contention that the prosecution failed to prove Arnold knew McHugh had committed a murder. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatMcHugh murdered Lisa Thompson by strangling her with a blind cord and stabbing her to death in her own home. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe jury found McHugh had inflicted 11 stab wounds to Thompson's chest, six of which penetrated her heart and two went through and through. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatGardaí searching Thompson's house found thousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in the attic. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThompson and McHugh had a romantic relationship in the year before her death. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatArnold waited outside Thompson's home for well over an hour before driving McHugh away from the scene. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatArnold checked McHugh into the Clayton Hotel near Dublin Airport to help him evade prosecution. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
  • whatArnold's silver Hyundai Tucson was used to dispose of evidence taken from Thompson's home. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA fingerprint on a jewellery valuation certificate found in Arnold's vehicle on 17 May 2022 was linked to Thompson and matched Arnold's right middle finger. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe jewellery valuation certificate was a receipt for an engagement ring bought for Thompson by a former fiancé. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatText messages from a number linked to Arnold to McHugh on 18 and 19 June 2022 included references to strangulation and stabbing. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatFurther text messages from Arnold to McHugh in June 2022 included "Murder Lisa n al", "Move the knife did u" and "Ur runners n the knife". (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA senior investigating officer told the jury that details of the ligature and strangulation had not been released to the public in June 2022 and were retained for operational reasons. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatMcHugh had broken Arnold's arm by holding it on the bottom of a stairway and stamping on it. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatArnold had made domestic abuse complaints and obtained an interim barring order against McHugh. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatA recording dated 22 November 2021 of McHugh calling Arnold a "dirty, smelly, blonde wh**e" and threatening to cut her throat was played to the jury. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatBrian McHugh murdered Lisa Thompson by strangling her with a blind cord and stabbing her to death in her own home. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatLisa Thompson was a mother of two. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatLisa Thompson was dealing prescription drugs from her home. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGardaí found thousands of prescription tablets worth nearly €50,000 hidden in the attic of Thompson's house. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatArnold told gardaí that McHugh broke her arm by holding it on the bottom of a stairwell and stamping on it. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatArnold had made domestic abuse complaints and been granted an interim barring order against McHugh. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe murder took place at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe murder occurred on 9 May 2022. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
  • courtThe 11 jurors took five hours and 33 minutes over two days to unanimously reject the defence case. (irishtimes.com)
  • courtMr Justice McGrath remanded Arnold on continuing bail until 20 June 2025 for sentencing. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceBrian McHugh was sentenced to life imprisonment on 10 March 2025 for the murder. (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherArnold is the sole financial support for her family and a mother of three. (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 8 Apr2025
    Convictedirishtimes.com, first report
    HSE addiction counsellor found guilty of being getaway driver for Lisa Thompson murderer

    Reports the jury verdict finding Arnold guilty of being the getaway driver for McHugh, details of the trial evidence including the murder method, the prescription drug dealing, domestic abuse history, and the bail decision pending sentencing on 20 June 2025.

    victim, Lisa Thompson, female, irish (judged from name)Lisa Thompsonconvicted, Deirdre Arnold, 42, female, named, irish (judged from name)Deirdre Arnoldconvicted, Brian McHugh, male, named, irish (judged from name)Brian McHugh
  2. 8 Apr2025
    Convictedirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    HSE counsellor found guilty of being getaway driver for Lisa Thompson murderer

    Reports the unanimous jury verdict finding Arnold guilty on both counts, trial evidence including text messages, fingerprint on a jewellery certificate, the murder circumstances (strangulation and 11 stab wounds), and the remand on continuing bail until the 20 June 2025 sentencing hearing.

    convicted, Deirdre Arnold, 42, female, named, irish (judged from name)Deirdre Arnoldconvicted, Brian McHugh, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Brian McHughvictim, Lisa Thompson, 52, female, irish (judged from name)Lisa Thompson