Crime World
Episode 1364: Sister of one-punch victim Martin Lynn urges appeal of brother’s killer’s 6-year sentence
26 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What happened to Martin Lynn in July 2023?
He chose to stop his bike and pull in in front of the taxi. He chose to get off his bike and approach Martin. And he chose to use violence on him for no reason. Honestly, I don't think he cared whether he killed him or he permanently caused brain damage or anything. You have to understand that that can have...
and punching someone in the head, you have to understand that that can have serious repercussions, if not death.
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Christopher O'Neill was sentenced to six years this week for an unprovoked one-punch attack on innocent Martin Lynn outside his home in Whitehall in July 2023. Today I am talking to Sharon Lynn and her husband Anthony about their appeal for the leniency of this sentence and how this attack changed their lives forever.
I'm Chloe McPolin and you're listening to Crime World, a podcast by crimeworld.com. Christopher O'Neill was sentenced for six years this week for an unprovoked attack on your brother Martin Lynn in 2023. I suppose you've spoken about how you're unhappy with the sentence.
But if we could just go back in time and maybe talk a bit about your brother Martin and what he was like growing up, what kind of person he was.
So Martin was my only sibling. We grew up, both my parents, myself and Martin, Most of our family are from Mayo and Donegal, so the four of us were a very tight-knit family. We did everything together over the years, all our summer holidays and celebrations, birthdays, Christmases, everything.
I lived at home in the family home until I was 30 and Martin was still in the family home before he passed away. Um, he was a very, very mild mannered, um, gentle, really respectful, um, young guy. He, everyone described him as a really kind gentleman. And I think that really sums him up.
Um, but he was very kind of, he was kind, but in a way, you know how people say he'd give you the shirt off his back. Martin was like that, but he was the type, he wouldn't want you to know. He did something nice for you. So, you know, he'd hide something somewhere for you. He wouldn't like openly give it to you. So he was very kind of...
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Chapter 2: How did the family describe Martin Lynn's character?
It was haunting. It was terrifying.
Yeah. It's not a call you expect to get. You know, like any new mother, first time away from your baby, you're on edge and you're watching your phone the whole time and checking in. Is she okay? Is she okay? And then when you get a phone call super early in the morning, my first thought was something has gone wrong.
And never in a million years did I ever think it would be anything to do with Martin. He was... He was just someone, he was never in trouble over the years. He was just... A really genuine, lovely person. Yeah. And you always knew where he was as well. He went to the same place every Saturday night. He was a big fan of routine.
Yeah, he loved routine.
Very predictable, I suppose. We kind of, you know, you stop worrying about someone when they hit a certain age as well. Yeah. And yeah, it just never crossed my mind that something like this could happen to him.
And it's just, I think what makes the story so awful is that Martin was someone that wouldn't have known how to get in a fight, wouldn't have ever wanted to, and wouldn't have known how to defend himself either. And like Anthony said, his hands were in his pockets, was just...
Adds to the, you know, how vulnerable he was at the time of the assault and how unnecessary it was to use that kind of violence against him.
And the individual responsible for this assault, we obviously know, is Christopher O'Neill. Did Martin know Christopher O'Neill at all or was it?
I really don't think so. We were in the same housing estate previously. O'Neill would have been a couple of years younger than Martin, so I don't think they would have known each other. They wouldn't have been in the same circle, let's say.
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Chapter 3: What were the circumstances of the one-punch attack?
It was on the last day of term before they break for Christmas. And the trial was due to start in early January. So we'd been through all the trial preparation, financially, emotionally. And he put that plea in at the very beginning. last moment and appears to have been generously rewarded for that guilty plea.
Totally. And what was Christopher O'Neill's behaviour like in court? I think you read. Yeah. He wasn't very...
There was absolutely no remorse shown towards us. There was no explanation, no apology. There was a letter given to the judge that we weren't allowed to see. There was no letter for us. As far as I'm concerned, there was no genuine remorse from him at all. If anything, the complete opposite. He was...
The day we gave our victim impact statements, he was winking at someone in the gallery in court. The following day at sentencing, the same thing, he was smirking and winked at someone.
Yeah, and then someone in the back, I believe it was one of Martin's friends, was obviously, everyone was furious about it. the sentence and he said to him across the courtroom wipe that stupid smile off your face and of course at that point then O'Neill turned around and posed in an aggressive manner saying something back and to be taken away by
with the guards telling them like so I mean that to me doesn't show remorse in any kind of capacity whatsoever no absolutely not it's a tactical response yeah a strategic move in order to get a lighter sentence in my view
And we obviously know Christopher O'Neill had other convictions as well prior to this attack on Martin, like the senseless attack.
Yeah, he had 23 prior convictions at the time. He was out on bail at the time of the attack on Martin as well.
So a very, very violent individual who obviously seemed to show like no remorse. But what was it like to hear he had gotten six years for this attack on Martin?
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Chapter 4: What was the family's reaction to Christopher O'Neill's sentencing?
He chose to get off his bike and approach Martin. And he chose to... use violence on him for no reason. Honestly, I don't think he cared whether he killed him or he permanently caused brain damage or anything. If you are using serious force and punching someone in the head, you have to understand that that can have serious repercussions, if not death. So the intent bit does bother me.
Mm-hmm.
And I suppose as well, obviously, the nature of the way this was reported at the time, there was kind of an assumption maybe that Martin could have been, you know, drunk getting out of that taxi and it's reporting. Can you kind of go into detail just about that reporting at the time and how that impacted your family, I guess?
Yeah, so the initial reporting, obviously we were in complete shock that this happened to someone like Martin and outside her front door as well. It's a quiet, nice housing estate. Things like this don't happen in the area. So, yeah, initially it was reported as an altercation, as a row between two young lads. It kind of sounded like it was a drunken row that went wrong.
There were reports that Martin had opened the door of the taxi and knocked O'Neill off his bike, like completely... false information, I guess, that has all since been proven in court through the CCTV, very clear footage. That was on top of the grief and the trauma to have to feel like
I had to speak up for my brother and go contact these journalists and try get them to correct what they were saying. I knew the type of person Martin was. He would have been mortified to think that anyone thought he would be in a fight. So that was... He had a really good reputation and... you know, he was, he was sensitive as well. He would have, he would have, that would have bothered him.
And he wasn't here to defend himself.
And I suppose, obviously, you know, the grief, I can only imagine the grief and to hear the sentence was, you know, as short as six years for something so senseless for Martin. And there'll never be obviously a long enough sentence for someone who commits these attacks. But what would you like to see happen to those who do commit these senseless one punch attacks?
What would you like going forward?
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Chapter 5: How did the community respond to the attack on Martin Lynn?
Where's the deterrent for it when they're getting light sentences? particularly people who have previous convictions and are offending over and over again. I guess it is definitely, it's difficult to speak about it, but it's really important because change does need to happen and it won't happen if people stay silent and don't And don't air, you know, how they're really feeling after a sentence.
And I guess it's not just about how you're feeling. It's about what's in the law and what's just and what's fair. It needs to be...
proportionate to the crime that was that was committed and in this case it it absolutely it absolutely isn't and like you've lost your sibling you know you can't you can't bring Martin back yeah um but you do have a petition um yeah and you're looking to obviously appeal to the DPP yeah um can you just tell us a bit about like the petition and where we can find it
So if people go to change.org and search for the name Martin Lin, or I have an Instagram page, Justice for Martin Lin, there's a link to the petition on the page. It's been, we've been having an overwhelming response. It's only been up a few days and we have a couple of thousand, 4,000 I think this morning. 4,000 now.
And so, yeah, I guess it's just to show support that it's a way of people to voice their anger and disgust, I guess, at this sentence. And that has been the overall response from the general public, people that don't know our family or don't know Martin. have just been outraged reading about it and hearing about it.
So signing the petition is a way of us just kind of showing that, you know, it's not just us saying this, this is the general consensus from the general public. So we have submitted a request to the DPP for them to appeal. And we've set out all our reasons. We've no legal background, so it's completely just by our own research of the law. We don't have legal representation.
You don't as the family of a victim.
I'm sure it's difficult to navigate that as well, going into it, trying to understand.
I mean, the criminal gets free legal aid and the family get absolutely nothing. So you're lost in the whole process and trying your best. But not everyone would be in the position to even attempt to do that. So... We shouldn't have to go to these lengths to try appeal. But as far as I know, the DPP have 28 days from the date of sentencing.
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Chapter 6: What is the significance of the petition for Martin Lynn?
Episode editor, Jason Mullaney. If you want to subscribe for exclusive crime content and podcast specials, go to www.