Family ‘traumatised’ as two sentenced for Donegal cliffs murder
Alan Vial and Nikita Burns were found guilty of the murder of Mr Wilkin on June 25 2023.
A man and a woman have been sentenced to life imprisonment by an Irish court for the murder of a man in Co Donegal.
Robert “Robin” Wilkin, 66, was thrown off the Sliabh Liag/Slieve League cliffs on June 25 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, a native of Omagh, Co Tyrone, had two sisters and a brother.
One sister, Irene McAleer, said Mr Wilkins 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 Wilkins’ 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 said that contrary to some reports, Mr Wilkins 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 gardai 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.
