The nephew of a sex worker killed by an ex-soldier in Co Westmeath says she was a 'caring person' who devoted her life to looking after her mother.
He was speaking at the sentence hearing of Jimmy Devaney of Millbrook Avenue, Monksland in Athlone who was cleared of murdering Marie Greene in July - but found guilty of her manslaughter.
The day before Valentine's Day 2011, Ms Greene left her mother's house and promised her dogs she would bring them back a piece of chicken.
She never returned.
Nine days later, the body of the 37-year-old was found in a bog just outside Athlone.
Marie was working as a prostitute and Jimmy Devaney was a client of hers. He told gardaí she had been blackmailing him and threatening to tell his wife.
He said he drove her to the bog that night to talk to her, and claimed he 'lost control' and killed her after she pulled a knife out.
The 67-year-old father-of-three returned to a poker game afterwards with blood and dirt on his clothes.
He was acquitted of murder in July - but found guilty of manslaughter.
At his sentence hearing today, Peter McDonagh told the court he could never understand why his aunt was so brutally killed and thrown in a ditch - or why somebody would put no value on her life and have no dignity for her body.
The former soldier will be sentenced in two weeks time.
Newstalk.com's courts correspondent Frank Greaney was in court, and spoke to Lunchtime.
