A man who murdered his wife on a family boating trip in Fermanagh has been denied a bid for a shorter prison sentence.
Stephen McKinney, 47, from Fintona Co. Tyrone, who had been living in Convoy at the time of the incident, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years for murdering his wife, 35-year-old Lu Na McKinney, in April 2017.
Her body was recovered from Lough Erne near a jetty at Devenish Island, where the couple were moored on a hire cruiser with their two young children.
McKinney appealed against his conviction on seven grounds.
Arguments from McKinney’s lawyer claimed the trial judge failed to consider a potentially more favourable scenario than premeditated murder.
Today, Appeal Court judges dismissed all grounds of appeal and upheld the original sentence of 20 years.
The court concluded that the tariff imposed by the trial judge was not “manifestly excessive”.
In dismissing the appeal, the court provided guidance to sentencers dealing with murder cases in a domestic context and where coercive and controlling behaviour is established.
The court reiterated the position that this case “should now make clear” that pre-existing coercive and controlling behaviour is also an aggravating factor that will result in higher sentences when domestic murders of this kind occur.