Irish teen who beat woman to death 'had unhealthy interest in Andrew Tate'

Lorna Woodnutt (51) suffered a horrendous death after the boy attacked her at a property outside Tullamore in Co Offaly in September last year

The teenager who bludgeoned a woman to death in Co Offaly was obsessed with controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate, it has emerged.

A day after the 17-year-old was jailed for life for the horrific hammer murder of Lorna Woodnutt, The Irish Mirror has confirmed Tate was one of several male role models in whom the boy had an unhealthy interest.

The Central Criminal Court heard on Thursday that the boy followed several such influencers online – but none of them were named.

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However, we have established that the main influencer he followed was Tate – who is currently charged in Romania with rape, sexual exploitation and human trafficking and is well known for his self-proclaimed anti-women comments.

"There were others but the main one was Tate," a source has confirmed. "He lived most of his life online."

Mr Justice Paul McDermott told the teen’s sentencing hearing on Thursday – in which he was jailed for life, to be reviewed after 15 years – that the boy’s probation report had expressed concern that he had an unhealthy interest in male role models who "peddle extreme beliefs and values". The judge said that this had an effect in shaping the boy’s thinking and encouraged a negative attitude towards women.

Mr Justice McDermott said on Thursday that "defenceless" Ms Woodnutt had suffered "a cowardly, brutal and sustained assault", which the then 16-year-old teen had carried out with an "extraordinary level of brutality and viciousness". He added that the killing was carried out without mercy, inflicting maximum terror and suffering. The judge said the attack, which had "an element of planning", was not "a spontaneous eruption of violence" but "conceived and executed with deliberate intent". He said the posting of a "sickening" video online afterwards showed complete disrespect to the victim.

Ms Woodnutt (51) suffered a horrendous death after the boy attacked her at a property outside Tullamore in Co Offaly in September last year. The boy then posted a video of his dead victim on Snapchat to all his followers – so they would alert gardaí and officers would go to the house.

The court also heard during the sentence hearing that the now 17-year-old defendant, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 18 months old and there had been an increase in his aggressive and oppositional behavioural issues towards staff and students in his school in the weeks leading up to the killing.

A psychiatrist had also diagnosed the teenager with an adjustment disorder but pointed out that the defendant was too young to be diagnosed with other mental disorders.

Laboratory technician Ms Woodnutt suffered fatal blunt force injuries to the head, face and chest in the attack carried out while she was sitting at a kitchen table working on her computer. A post-mortem report revealed that Ms Woodnutt's facial features were absent, with a defect in the face exposing the skull "without any extracranial content present". There was a loss of the anterior facial skin and soft tissue from the forehead to below the chin. A probation report submitted to the court indicated that the boy had taken responsibility for the killing but showed little emotion. The teenager's defence barrister, James Dwyer SC, had told the court that this was due to the boy's condition rather than a "callous lack of victim awareness".

The probation report found the defendant was at very high risk of reoffending because of the extreme violence he used, his inability to recognise and regulate emotions and his inability to articulate accountability or responsibility even though he knew what he had done was wrong. The judge said the boy has the prospect of being released in 2038 but that would depend on his progress in his education and in addressing his offending and his behaviour. He said the level of danger he poses to others would also be considered at that time.

Mr Justice McDermott ordered that a probation report and an updated psychiatric assessment be provided to the court every two years. He extended his sympathies to Ms Woodnutt's family and friends.

The boy’s unhealthy interest in Andrew Tate came as the American/British influencer (37) was at the centre of a major criminal investigation in Romania. The kickboxer was later charged along with his brother Tristan, 36, with rape, forming an organised crime group and human trafficking in Romania.

The brothers deny the allegations.

Andrew Tate is a self-proclaimed misogynist who makes money through selling online courses among other schemes.

Earlier this year, he branded Ireland's Eurovision entrant Bambie Thug "stupid" and "a loser" in a shocking volley of abuse on social media.

He was replying to a post that shared two photos of the non-binary singer, asking "What happened to Bambie Thug?"

"On a desperate bid for originality, overestimating her own intellect - she found herself down a rabbit hole [sic] of psyops," Tate began, misgendering the Cork artist, who prefers the pronouns they/them.

"Probably believes she's actually helping the world in some way. ART! Expression! Done.

"She's a loser, and too stupid to see it," he added in a reply that has garnered more than 7,000 likes.

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