News Story

Four people have been sentenced in relation to the “brutal and senseless” murder of a man in Ballymoney, Co Antrim.

Steven Peck, 33, who was from Ballymoney, was attacked on the Garryduff Road on January 3, 2021.

He was found on a pathway at the back of the Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre, after a passer-by spotted him and attempted to perform CPR.

Suffering from severe head injuries, Mr Peck was taken to Causeway Hospital before being transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he died several days later without ever regaining consciousness.

David Austin, Brian McCook, Stephen McCook and Easther McCook all pled guilty to various offences related to Mr Peck’s murder.

Austin, now aged 59, pled guilty to murder and was handed a life sentence in 2023.

In Coleraine Crown Court on Friday, he was told he will serve a minimum of 16-and-a-half years in prison.

Brothers Brian McCook, 30, and Stephen McCook, 34, both from Ballymoney, were each sentenced to four years for assisting an offender, half to be served in custody and half on licence.

Their mother Easther, 51, also from Ballymoney, was sentenced to two years, suspended for three years, for perverting the course of justice.

All four sat in the dock and Stephen McCook broke down in tears as proceedings ended.

In his sentencing, Mr Justice O’Hara outlined the events leading up to the attack in which Mr Peck was “brutally beaten and left lying helplessly”.

The court heard Austin was told his wife had been assaulted by Mr Peck, a claim Mr O’Hara said there was “no evidence” for, and “not a single word” was exchanged between the couple in relation to it.

The court heard Austin then set out to attack Mr Peck, telling police “the thought in my head was to kill Steven”.

Setting out on the evening of the incident, he wore a balaclava and brought a knife, with the McCook brothers, with the trio amongst them being armed with two metal bars, and a knuckle duster.

The pathologist found Mr Peck had severe face and skull fractures as a result of “multiple heavy blows to the face” from weapons or kicking, and bruises on his back “probably as a result of kicks”.

In February 2023, Austin pled guilty to murder.

Outlining his tariff of Austin on Friday, Mr O’Hara said the man’s lack of remorse is “striking”, having previously told the court he was “sorry (Mr Peck) had died but was not sorry he had got a hiding”.

The McCook brothers were also originally charged with murder but those charges were dropped after Austin, who was a key witness for the prosecution, declined to give further evidence.

Mr Justice O’Hara said some would contend the brothers had “literally got away with murder” and it is “not my role to argue with them”, but he can only sentence in relation to the crimes they had pled guilty to, adding he felt the prosecution were correct to assume murder would not be proven.

The judge outlined a range of lies told by the McCook family to the police over the course of the investigation, including false alibis from Easther that were later disproved by various means such as CCTV, body-worn footage and mobile phone analysis.

The court also heard victim impact statements from Mr Peck’s mother Rosemary and sister Heather.

Rosemary Peck and her husband Derek were unable to have children of their own and became foster parents, fostering more than 100 children over the years, with some staying for as little as a night and the longest 15 years.

They adopted four children, all siblings and half-siblings, as they did not want to see them split up, one of whom was Mr Peck.

Ms Peck, who has since been diagnosed with motor neurone disease and attended court in a wheelchair, became emotional and left proceedings in tears as her statement was read.

A further statement from Ms Peck was later read in which she said the “justice system has let us down as I know in my heart who is responsible for murdering Steven”, adding “no mother should have to lose her son in such circumstances”.

Heather Peck described Mr Peck as her “protector” and the “most caring, kind, lovable brother anyone could have”.

Justice O’Hara told the court the contrast “to what the Pecks have contributed to society” as compared to the McCooks and Austin “could hardly be starker”.

Speaking outside Coleraine Court on Friday, alongside Derek and Heather Peck, PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Hazel Miller described the murder as “brutal and senseless”.

She added: “The severity of the attack itself, and the callous way in which this victim was left lying on the ground, shocked an entire community, while leaving a loving family shattered.”

Ms Miller also read a statement on behalf of Mr Peck’s family, saying he was known as their “gentle giant”.

The statement read: “He was incredibly caring and kind, and was deeply loved not only by his immediate family, but by all those who knew him and his close friends.

“Our lives have never been the same since police called with us at our home in January 2021, and they will never be the same again.

“While we try to get through each day as best we can, we take a small comfort in knowing that those responsible have been held accountable.”