Tyrone man Gary McGurk killed New Yorker ex-girlfriend

[Tony Baloney]

He looks like he is from Tyrone.

It's the beard, isn't it?

[haranguerer]

His Father had an interesting past also:

An interesting story but not relevant to the thread.

Does it not show that criminality runs in the family? (at the very least)

You're right, he should have been incarcerated as soon as he was born. 

I'm sure someone else will pull you on his fathers 'criminality'.

[J OGorman]

how is it not relevant to the thread? of course it is...
interesting read

I suppose it's an interesting story about this guys father. Other than that it's not relevant.

Maybe his mother entered the Rose of Tralee, that would be interesting too but not relevant.

course its bloody relevant...how cant it be? yer man kills a woman. first question asked is why? any early trauma / upheaval in the murderers life? form some phycoanyalsis etc

[Zapatista]

course its bloody relevant...how cant it be? yer man kills a woman. first question asked is why? any early trauma / upheaval in the murderers life? form some phycoanyalsis etc

If that was the first question they asked then they had decided where the problem was before they even started.
FFS half the popultion of Europe came through 2 horrible world wars without this sort of shit. Is every crime commited in Europe by someone over the age of 50 a victim of there parents actions during wars?

[haranguerer]

form some proper words etc...

[Puckoon]

Zap - I think you'd be struggling to find a reason why the fathers history isnt worth mentioning at all. In any case thats not the point. That poor woman died a rotten death for no reason at all.

[Capt Pat]

How did their family get visas for the states?

[Denn Forever]

How did their family get visas for the states?

A good question.  Would it have had anything to do with the peace process here?

[mick999]

How did their family get visas for the states?

A good question.  Would it have had anything to do with the peace process here?

It's not clear whether they had valid Visas ..

"Astonishingly, The Queens District Attorney's Office told the Sunday Independent that investigators have still not established whether McGurk has a valid visa to live in the United States. The attorney in charge of the case was not aware until this week of the "full background" to the McGurk father's move to New York and his life in the previous decades in Ireland."


http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/new-york-murder-most-foul-1849252.html

[Overthebar!]

How did their family get visas for the states?

that is a good question. zap another reason it is relevant is because it highlights how/why gary is in america in the first place.
just admit it was a silly statement from you...

[omagh_gael]

I think the fathers background is very relevant to this case. I'm in the process of (hopefully) becoming a psychologist someday and a lot of theories in psychology emphasize early childhood experiences and their environment/up-bringing as paramount in the development of the individuals conscience/morals. Now clearly this man's father was involved in some shady dealings and perhaps the issue of death/violence may have been glorified or normalised in this lads childhood thus providing an environment for the development of a psychopathic personality. Not the crazy, foaming at the mouth psycho but a cold, calculated, lack of empathy sort of personality that would be likely to be involved in this case. The sketchy details of the crime that are available (i.e a gruesome death) would point to the above sort of scenario as opposed to a one off act of violence that was completely out of character.

Obviously this is all conjecture and it's just as likely that the lad was a bad apple, however, one off's tend to be the exception rather than the rule.

[bingobus]

I find Zaps attempts to defend the honour of the IRA father sad.

[Carmen Stateside]

Played football with the lad out here. He seemed a civil enough lad. Terrible what he did to this girl.

[haranguerer]

I think the fathers background is very relevant to this case. I'm in the process of (hopefully) becoming a psychologist someday and a lot of theories in psychology emphasize early childhood experiences and their environment/up-bringing as paramount in the development of the individuals conscience/morals. Now clearly this man's father was involved in some shady dealings and perhaps the issue of death/violence may have been glorified or normalised in this lads childhood thus providing an environment for the development of a psychopathic personality. Not the crazy, foaming at the mouth psycho but a cold, calculated, lack of empathy sort of personality that would be likely to be involved in this case. The sketchy details of the crime that are available (i.e a gruesome death) would point to the above sort of scenario as opposed to a one off act of violence that was completely out of character.

Obviously this is all conjecture and it's just as likely that the lad was a bad apple, however, one off's tend to be the exception rather than the rule.

Really, Einstein?

Anyway, all who say the fathers transgressions are relevant; in what way? In understanding why Gary did what he did? Why? Should this be taken into account when he's beng sentenced, and a lesser sentence result? Thats the only possible reason I can think of why his fathers past should be taken into account, but no doubt such an unpopulist idea will have yis aghast...

If the opinion is that Gary is his own man; deserves all he gets, and his fathers background wasnt a contributory factor in this case, then it is irrelevant and only an aside to a tragic case.

[Overthebar!]

I don't think it should entitle him to a lesser sentence but I do think the story is relevant. Id say he did it because he thought he could get away with it...by the way carmen was he anyuse at the football?