Stephen McKinney: Wife murderer loses appeal against jail term

A man who murdered his wife during a boating holiday in County Fermanagh has lost his appeal against the length of sentence he received.

Stephen McKinney was jailed for a minimum of 20 years for murdering 35-year-old Lu Na McKinney in April 2017.

Last year he lost an appeal against the conviction.

In 2021, a jury accepted the prosecution case that Lu Na's death was not an accident.

Her body was recovered from Lough Erne near a jetty at Devenish Island, where the couple had moored on a hire cruiser with their two young children.

On Friday, McKinney's lawyer advanced a number of arguments at the Court of Appeal in an attempt to have his sentence reduced.

They told the court that the trial judge failed to consider more favourable scenarios than those which involved premeditated murder.

He also argued that a mitigating factor - McKinney's clear record - was not taken into account when calculating the length of sentence.

However, the three Appeal Court judges dismissed all grounds of appeal and upheld the original sentence of 20 years.

On Friday, the Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said: "It is without any hesitation we find the tariff imposed by the trial judge not manifestly excessive."

She added that this case "should make it clear" that coercive and controlling behaviour is an aggravating factor that will result in higher sentences.

"We hope the sentence imposed, which we uphold, provides some solace and satisfaction that the appellant was brought to justice and punished