horror stabbing Killer Dan Carroll is 'twisting the knife' into family's hearts by appealing, victim's ex-partner says

Killer Dan Carroll has stabbed the already devastated family of his murder victim in their hearts once again, his victim's ex-partner has said.

The twisted knife killer is appealing both his sentence and verdict, prolonging the suffering of the loved ones of Brian Phelan who was brutally murdered by Carroll in July 2018.

Just four months after he received a minimum 22-year-sentence, he plunged the family into another distressing nightmare when he revealed his intention to appeal.

Amanda O'Riordan, the mother of Brian's two children, says she cannot bear the thought of having to see the killer in the dock once again.

Branding Carroll as "sick", she revealed how she will have to sit down and tell her already traumatised children that the bad man who killed their daddy is back in their lives.

"He is a sick b*****d. He has no chance of getting out so I think he is just doing that to literally twist the knife, to torment us further. He gets his kicks out of that," Amanda told the Sunday World this week.

"He's an evil monster, he is not happy unless he is hurting and tormenting people. He should never be allowed back on the streets even after 22 years.

"I couldn't believe it when I got the call to say he was appealing, I thought it was some kind of joke. It's a sick joke on his behalf."

Amanda and her former partner's family and friends are still reeling from having to sit through Carroll's trial last year.

They had to listen to Brian's 999 call and hear him begging for his life. They also had to endure the horror of watching his last moments on CCTV, where Carroll was seen rifling through his victim's pockets as he lay bleeding to death.

"We have all had enough, we can't take much more but we won't be beaten by that scum. We will never stop fighting, we will make sure he pays for what he did to Brian for a very long time.

"We will not stand back and let him try and get his sentenced decreased by a second.

"He's a cold-blooded killer, a psychopath. He is where he deserves to be - if anything we should be appealing to have him behind bars for longer for what he is putting us through now," Amanda said.

It's been almost four years since Brian was murdered yet they still have never been able to grieve in the way they deserve, she said.

"The shock is still there, there are still days when you can't believe someone did something so horrible to a good man like Brian. He didn't deserve what happened to him and we still don't know why.

"What Dan Carroll should be doing is telling us why, answering all the questions that torture us because he is the only one with the answers.

"He has shown no remorse, not one single bit.

"No thoughts for Brian's two children who will grow up knowing their daddy was murdered. Tormenting wee children, he should maybe think of his own but I doubt that would even make a difference."

The family was stunned to hear his plans for appeal.

"Appealing both his sentence and his conviction. It's a f***ing joke," said Amanda.

"And now I'll have to wait again to get Brian's belongings back because they are evidence, we have waited too long already but that sick b*****d wants to prolong our suffering even further.

"My children were waiting at Christmas to get their daddy's jewellery back and they are still waiting and they will probably have to wait for years yet.

"My wee boy is only six but he asks me if that bad man has his daddy's jewellery, that's what he thinks, God love him.

"I had to explain to him that that wasn't true but we had to wait a bit longer to get Brian's stuff back because the man wasn't happy with his sentence.

"He likes to control but what he is doing is hurting my children even more and they have suffered more than enough.

"He's evil, he should just let this end but instead he just keeps on adding more and more on."

The furious Newry woman wants to meet the kidnapping killer face to face.

"I have asked if I could go and visit him, I would ask him to be man enough and come face to face with a woman and answer all my questions but he's not man enough.

"Even his own family are disgusted with what he's doing now, they look at him and think 'what is wrong with him?'

"The trial last year drained the life out of me and I had a terrible time at Christmas, you have no idea what it was like for us. When I suffer my children suffer too, he should think about that.

"If I got the chance to get into a room with him I would cut his b**ls clean open and make him eat them. I will go to my grave fighting for Brian and hating him," she said.

Carroll is serving his time in Maghaberry Prison where he has been the victim of several attacks.

"I've heard that he has been beaten up on several occasions and he cries like a baby.

"I hope he gets beat every day, he deserves it what he has done," she added.