Daniel Lynch: Man murders brother in ‘frenzied and brutal attack’, told family he was sleeping

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

A man who brutally killed his own brother and attempted to cover it up by lying to his family has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Daniel Lynch, 39, killed his older brother Shane Lynch by striking him repeatedly in the head with a weapon, most likely a hammer.

Shane was 39-years-old at the time of the violent attack, and died from the injuries he sustained at the family home in Bosemeor Park near Redrut, Cornwall.

His body was found surrounded by blood on the kitchen floor after Lynch told his half-brother that Shane was in there sleeping.

The brothers’ mother called paramedics, and he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Police were called after ambulance service personnel became suspicious that the accounts provided were inconsistent with Shane’s injuries.

At his sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Simon Carr handed Lynch a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years for the “sustained and brutal” killing.

During Lynch’s trial, Truro Crown court heard that the brothers had a difficult relationship, The Mirror reported.

The lead up to the murder, which happened overnight between November 11 and 12 last year, remains uncertain, but Judge Carr said there was “clearly an argument or disagreement of some kind”.

He said that Lynch was armed “with a weapon or weapons” and “launched a sustained, frenzied and brutal attack which included multiple blows to the head with force”.

Shane was on the ground for many of the blows Lynch inflicted on him, and following the attack he tried to clear up the scene and destroy evidence.

The victim had a 16-year-old daughter, who is among those grieving his loss.

Lynch had been drinking on November 11 and had also been trying to obtain drugs. He had been at Shane’s home and had made accusations at him and his partner.

He tried to leave the property, but missed his bus. He went back inside and continued drinking.

CCTV footage from the local area captured a person wearing similar clothes to Lynch. He was also seen leaving the house with a rucksack and returning without it.

The prosecution said this was when Lynch got rid of Shane’s phone and some other evidence.

The court heard it was likely Shane had been killed at 1.30am, and that by 1.46am his phone was no longer connected to the mast that connected to the address.

Cellular data demonstrated that Shane’s phone had been taken off the property before it was completely disconnected from the network.

Lynch’s hoodie was found with Shane’s blood on it, hidden in the kitchen were he killed his brother.

Pictures of Shane’s body were found on Lynch’s phone, and had been taken prior to the arrival of paramedics.

Investigators found diluted blood in the sink, which indicated somebody had attempted to clean a blood-stained object, or themselves in it.

Beside Shane’s body, and underneath him, a knife lay broken with Shane’s blood on it.

Lynch had claimed that a third party had entered the house while he was asleep on the couch, and this person had murdered Shane.

After the verdict was delivered, Detective Inspector Rob Smith said: “There are only two men who truly know what happened in the property that night and one of them is sadly no longer with us. A huge amount of work has gone into this investigation to establish the circumstances that lead to Shane Lynch’s death.”

“What is not in doubt is that Shane Lynch was brutally murdered by his own brother Daniel within their mother’s home. The exact reasons Daniel launched such a violent and brutal attack on his brother, we will likely never know.

“Daniel Lynch continued to deny he was responsible for the murder despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We welcome the verdict and sentence passed by the court. We hope all those involved in this case are able to move on with their lives.”