A man who meted out a “volley of violence” on a defenceless “drunken bowsie” in response to his mother being insulted with lewd requests for sex has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
In an impact statement, the two brothers of victim Juris Kokenbergs told the Central Criminal Court on Friday that the worst experience of their lives was looking into their elderly parents’ eyes to tell them they had lost a son.
Watching their mother and father saying goodbye “to their firstborn son was the most heartbreaking thing we experienced”, the brothers wrote.
Mareks and Oskars Kokenbergs said their older brother Juris was “not perfect”, but he was human. “He made mistakes as we all do but he never harmed anyone. He was kind, very generous, funny and thoughtful.”
The court was told that the defendant, Tomas Cypas, had 55 previous convictions at “the nuisance end of criminal activity”.
Defence counsel Brendan Grehan told the presiding judge that his client wanted to tell the Kokenbergs family that he was sorry for assaulting Juris and never meant to kill him.
Earlier this month, a jury convicted Lithuanian national Cypas of murdering Kokenbergs by a majority verdict of 10 to two.
It was the State’s case that Kokenbergs died after his head was “stomped” on and blows “rained down on him” during an assault by his friend Cypas.
In his closing speech, prosecuting barrister Conor Devally said Cypas was under no threat and had the intent to at least cause serious injury to the deceased.
Cypas (35), with an address at Foxborough Road, Lucan, Co Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Latvian national Juris Kokenbergs (48) at Old Bridge Park, Lucan, Co Dublin, on October 28th, 2024.
Handing down the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murder, Judge Paul McDermott noted that such cases were “very difficult for those left behind”.
He said the victim impact statement “eloquently testifies to the horrible long-term effects on parents and family members that such a violent death has on their wellbeing and futures”.
The statement had been prepared by the deceased’s two brothers and read to the court by Kokenbergs’ sister-in-law.
They said they never got to say goodbye to Juris and that he was stolen from their family.
“He was taken too soon at 48 years old. Juris leaves behind a mother, father, two brothers, a niece, friends and work colleagues,” they wrote.
“The last day we saw Juris was two days before his violent death. He was visiting us in our home.
“Did I hug my brother? No. How was I supposed to know it would be the last time I saw him alive?
“The hardest thing we ever experienced was the call to our parents. Delivering such horrible news was unimaginable.
“Losing a child at any age is the most brutal loss and every parent’s worst nightmare. It was the worst thing in our lives to look into Mam and Dad’s eyes and tell them they had lost a son. They were in disbelief and shock.”