'Dumped from a cliff like his life was worthless': Pair jailed for life over Sliabh Liag murder
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
A man and a woman have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a man in Co Donegal.
Robert “Robin” Wilkin (66) was thrown off the Sliabh Liag cliffs on June 25th, 2023.
Alan Vial (39), of Drumanoo Head in Killybegs, and Nikita Burns (24), from An Charraig in Co Donegal, were found guilty of the murder, and were sentenced at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Friday.
Detective Garda David Durkin told the court that Vial had several previous convictions for road traffic and “public order-type” offences while Burns had no previous convictions.
Mr Wilkin, originally from Omagh in Co Tyrone, had two sisters and a brother.
One sister, Irene McAleer, said Mr Wilkin was the eldest of the siblings and they “looked up to him” during their childhood.
She described the murderers as “two cold, calculating individuals” and said the sentencing had brought the family a degree of closure.
She said the family was “sickened” by their attitude to Mr Wilkin’s life, and added that hearing the evidence was “emotional” and “traumatising”.
Ms McAleer said the family had been on an “agonising journey filled with grief, denial and undoubtedly anger”.
She added: “Now that the case has finished, we feel at a certain degree of closure to accept that Robin has passed, although the brutal nature of his death is something that none of us will ever come to terms with.
“This is something we will have to live with us that will live us for the rest of our lives.”
She added: “To sit in the same room with those two very cold, calculating individuals has been so difficult.
“The fact neither of these individuals have shown a grain of remorse has been overwhelming at times.”
Ms McAleer was sickened, she said, when she heard that Burns had said she hoped the body would not be found and that the victim's family "wouldn't bother to come looking for him".
She was further upset when she heard Vial "mocking" her brother, by declaring during one of his Garda interviews it was ironic that Robin had said he wanted to be buried at sea.
Ms McAleer said that contrary to some reports, Mr Wilkin was not estranged from the family.
She added that he was travelling his own path and lost regular contact with his siblings, adding: “Robin’s callous and unnecessary murder has deprived us of a chance to reconnect.”
Ms McAleer said the family would “live with the details” of the “cruel, needless murder” for the rest of their lives, adding that Vial and Burns had “dumped” his body off a cliff “like his life was worthless”.
She said listening to “gruesome evidence” had been “absolutely harrowing” for the family who had unanswered questions about whether he suffered or if the first blow killed him.
“As a family this isn’t the end for us, our grieving will begin now, and whatever way we can navigate through it.”
Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the statement reflected the “pain and suffering” of the family.
He commended gardaí for conducting an “extensive and very difficult inquiry”, adding that they showed professionalism in pursuing the case.
He sentenced Vial and Burns to life imprisonment.
