52-year-old Hasan Ali Gori has been found guilty of the murder of an 89-year-old grandmother from Tipperary.
Josephine “Josie” Ray was a mother of five who lived with her daughter, Mary, in St Joseph’s Park, Nenagh.
Hasan Ali Gori, 52, who was originally from Chad, had been in a relationship with Mary Ray and had moved into the family home.
Gori received the mandatory life sentence for murder.
He had previously denied any role in the murder, telling the Limerick Post in April 2025: “I have nothing to do with this death, how is somebody accusing me of murder.
“This is hatred, I feel it’s racist. I didn’t do anything to anybody,” said Gori when approached for comment.
Josie was found dead in her home on 4 August 2024; the court heard that she had been strangled and smothered while in bed.
More than 40 injuries were found on her body by a State pathologist. She had suffered two broken bones in her neck, with DNA matching Gori was found beneath her fingernails.
Gori had denied killing the elderly woman, but a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Limerick today found him guilty by an 11–1 majority verdict, after a trial which lasted than three weeks.
During the case, it was revealed that Gardaí had called to the Nenagh home ten times in 2024 before the grandmother’s murder, following reports of domestic disturbances.
Neighbours described rows and tension between Josie, Mary and Gori.
The court previously heard how in April 1924, Tipperary County Council received complaints about Gori living in the council property without authorisation. An officer visited and explained the tenancy rules to Josie.
It was revealed that the council subsequently wrote to her about anti-social behaviour and warned that her tenancy was at risk. A further letter said she was in breach of the tenancy agreement.
It was previously reported that Josie had received treatment for a broken hip, and following this she was visited by social worker Sharlene Hegarty on five occasions during April and May 2024.
The social worker told the murder trial that Josie became nervous and anxious when Gori was mentioned. Josie said she did not want to return to her own home until her daughter’s partner had left, and was afraid of what he might do to her daughter, Mary.
The social worker said she would have insisted Josie be placed in a nursing home if she had possessed the statutory powers to do so.
However interventions by gardaí, social workers and the local authority did not result in Hasan Ali Gori leaving the property.
RTÉ previously reported that Josie’s relatives had raised concerns about Gori living in the house, and that a council community liaison officer advised family members to encourage Josie to seek a barring order.
The trial heard that on 3 August 2024, on the night before her death, Gardaí visited the property over a domestic disturbance. The court heard that they spoke to Mary, who was upset following an argument with Gori, and advised the couple to take some time apart and be mindful of neighbours.
Neighbours subsequently gave evidence of an argument over whether Gori or Josie would have to leave the house. Josie was found dead the following morning.
In their victim impact statdments, the family said Josis was “the heart of our family” and said they would be “forever heartbroken” by the circumstances of her death.
“To live as long as Josie did, she did not deserve her life to end the way it did,” they said in a statement delivered before sentencing.