Romanian national Feri Anghel already had 24 convictions across Romania, France and Ireland—including attempted murder and 11 Irish convictions—when he murdered father-of-one Ioan Artene Bob in a Tallaght park. A unanimous jury convicted him, the mandatory life sentence followed, and the Court of Appeal dismissed his challenge.

24 priorsAcross three countries.
11 IrishConvictions before murder.
LifeMandatory sentence.
Appeal dismissedApril 2024.

A serious record before the killing

The sentencing court heard that Anghel had 24 previous convictions in Romania, France and Ireland. Eleven came from Irish courts. Reported categories included attempted murder in Romania, aggravated theft, criminal damage, violent behaviour in a Garda station and road-traffic offending. The reports do not establish that all 24 were violent or allocate every conviction by jurisdiction.

The murder of Ioan Artene Bob

Ioan Artene Bob, a 49-year-old Romanian construction worker, had won about €2,700 in a Dublin casino on 9 April 2018 and sent most of the money to his family. CCTV later showed Bob and Anghel together and travelling by Luas toward Tallaght on the night of 12–13 April. The prosecution case included evidence that Anghel attempted to use Bob’s bank card at about 3am.

A passer-by found Bob gravely injured in undergrowth at Sean Walsh Memorial Park. He died later in Tallaght Hospital. Pathology evidence recorded extensive blunt-force injuries consistent with kicking or stamping. The murder case was circumstantial, but the second jury unanimously found Anghel guilty.

Retrial, life sentence and appeal

The first trial ended in August 2021 when the jury could not agree. After a 31-day second trial, the jury returned its unanimous verdict on 14 April 2022. Mr Justice Paul Burns imposed mandatory life imprisonment on 30 May, backdated to 18 April 2018, and described the killing as cynical, vicious and extremely violent.

Anghel challenged the conviction, arguing about the circumstantial case and possible third-party involvement. On 19 April 2024 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in DPP v Anghel [2024] IECA 90. The located record does not establish a later Supreme Court outcome, prisoner transfer, release or immigration disposition.

Chronology

  • Before April 2018: 24 convictions across Romania, France and Ireland.
  • 9 April 2018: Bob wins casino money and sends most to family.
  • 13 April 2018: Bob is found fatally injured in the Tallaght park.
  • 18 April 2018: Anghel enters custody.
  • August 2021: first jury cannot reach a verdict.
  • 14 April 2022: second jury unanimously convicts.
  • 30 May 2022: mandatory life sentence imposed.
  • 19 April 2024: Court of Appeal dismisses conviction appeal.

Cost benchmark

A life sentence has no finite total. The Irish Prison Service’s 2024 average is €99,072 per available staffed prison space each year. Applying that rate to the documented 1,503 days from custody to sentence gives an illustrative €407,689. Applying it through 26 July 2026 would be about €819,446 only if custody remained uninterrupted.

These are static capacity comparisons, not Anghel’s audited cost. They exclude capital, Garda, hospital, courts, prosecution, legal aid and parole administration. The current-date illustration is conditional and is not a live prisoner-location verification.

Questions the record leaves

  1. When were Anghel’s Romanian and French convictions available to Irish authorities?
  2. What interventions followed the 11 Irish convictions before the murder?
  3. What has the investigation, retrial, appeal and imprisonment cost in full?
  4. Has any prisoner-transfer or post-custody immigration assessment occurred?

Sources

Record checked: 26 July 2026. The appeal result is sourced to the official judgment; no immigration status or life-sentence endpoint is invented.