A 24-year-old man could be facing the prospect of serving a life sentence after dramatically pleading guilty to the murder of a woman at Indreabhan, Co Galway, two years ago.
Czech national Jakub Fidler, with an address at Cartúr Leathán, Inverin, entered the guilty plea when the case came before the Central Criminal Court this month.
Fidler was charged with murder, contrary to common law, of fellow Czech national Nicola Vonkova (19 ) at Cartúr Leathán between the hours of 10pm on July 20, 2008, and 5.39am on July 21, 2008.
The body of Ms Vonkova had been discovered in a drain behind a cottage near the Poitín Stil pub in Inverin. She had been living in the area for a year while taking care of an elderly and visually impaired person.
Fidler was arrested and held for questioning at Galway Garda Station shortly after the discovery of Ms Vonkova’s body. By the afternoon of July 22, he was charged with assaulting Ms Vonkova causing her harm and brought before a special sitting of Galway District Court. He was charged with murder at a later date.
The sentencing hearing is expected to take place at the Central Criminal Court next Monday. It is believed that the victim’s family will travel to Ireland for the hearing and will submit their victim impact statements.
