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. 4244Threatening to abduct, torture, rape and kill; sending obscene material by post · Co. Offaly

Liam Finlay, 'beast of all sex beasts', due for release from Arbour Hill prison

Liam Finlay, 51, from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2019 for threatening to abduct, torture, rape and kill teenage girls and sending obscene material by post, is due for release from Arbour Hill prison in Dublin in six months.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced30 Dec
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
20 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatFinlay is now 51 years old (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatHe sent handwritten messages to Gardaí stations, a secondary school, and a college (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatHe detailed plans to kidnap, rape, torture and murder young women and girls (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatHe was a labourer (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatKaren Buckley was a 24-year-old student from Mourneabbey, Co. Cork (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatKaren Buckley was murdered by Alexander Pacteau in Glasgow in 2015 (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatPacteau was 21 at the time of the murder (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatPacteau bludgeoned Karen with a spanner and strangled her in his car (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatPacteau hid Karen's body in a barrel stored at a farm (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatJill Meagher was 29 years old and originally from Drogheda (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatJill Meagher was murdered by a serial rapist in Melbourne, Australia in 2012 (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatFinlay admitted his guilt (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereLiam Finlay is from Tullamore, Co. Offaly (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationDetectives traced serial numbers from stamps to a post office in Tullamore, Co. Offaly (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationA retired Gardaí detective scanned CCTV footage and suggested Finlay as a suspect (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationFinlay led detectives to a forest den covered in plastic with clippings of young women (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtFinlay admitted to charges at Tullamore Circuit Court (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtFinlay was refused bail (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtFinlay was found guilty of sending packages containing obscene material by post in 2018 (irishmirror.ie)
  • sentencePacteau was jailed for 23 years in 2015 (irishmirror.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 30 Dec2025
    Sentencedirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    'Beast of all sex beasts' who obsessed over Karen Buckley murder due for release

    Reports Finlay is due for release from Arbour Hill prison in six months; provides background on his case including his obsession with the Karen Buckley and Jill Meagher murders, details from the Lines of Enquiry podcast, and his 2019 sentencing.

    convicted, Liam Finlay, 51, male, named, irish (judged from name)Liam Finlay