Double killer Derek Wade wins High Court challenge over Portuguese conviction

Paul Neilan

A convicted murderer has been granted leave to pursue a High Court challenge against the Minister for Justice over a separate conviction he received in his absence in Portugal, which allegedly "prejudices" him in his efforts to get to an open prison.

Double-Killer Derek Wade says his rehabilitation and ability to move to an open prison in Ireland is being prejudiced because he cannot be granted bail with the Portuguese extradition warrant outstanding, affecting his parole efforts.

Wade is serving a life sentence, having been found guilty by a jury in 2007 of the murder of Chinese student Zhi Song, whom Wade stabbed to death with a chef’s carving knife after breaking into his house in June 2005.

He also received a five-year sentence for trying to rob another resident of a house on Reuben Avenue, Xiau Wen Zhou, of her purse on the same occasion.

Wade (45), formerly of Church Avenue South, Rialto, has also served a separate seven-year sentence for killing William Cahill (28) in a flat complex off James’s Street in 1997. Wade and another man repeatedly kicked their victim in the head following a row after a party.

A European Arrest Warrant from August 2022, issued by Portuguese authorities sought the surrender of Wade to Portugal to enforce a sentence of two years and four months' imprisonment for both aggravated and petty theft committed in June 2005.

Wade was convicted of the thefts in his absence in 2009 in Portugal, when he was in custody here. The entirety of the sentence remains to be served, and Wade applied to have that sentence transferred to Ireland.

Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo granted the request by Portuguese authorities in June 2023 seeking the extradition of Wade for the thefts.

The surrender was postponed on the basis that Wade is still a prisoner serving a sentence in the State.

Wade's lawyers submitted that "the remand in custody on the EAW has caused him prejudice because it impacted on his ability to progress with the prison system, in particular to progress to an open prison", which would be a factor in Parole Board recommendations.

"The applicant [Wade] could not by law be granted bail on the EAW matter pursuant to the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003," it is submitted.

Wade had objected to his surrender on a number of grounds, including the delay in issuing the warrant and the consequences of being remanded in custody.

In January 2024, Wade asked authorities here to allow him to serve the Portuguese sentence in this jurisdiction, but no decision has been made by the Minister for Justice on the transfer request.

An order is sought from the High Court directing the Minister to consider and determine the application, and his lawyers submit there is a statutory duty on the Minister to make that decision "within a reasonable period of time".

"The outstanding decision is causing the applicant prejudice in respect of him stepping down to an open prison and availing of temporary release," it is submitted.

Wade's next parole hearing is in December 2026.

At the High Court this week, Fiona Murphy SC, for Wade, successfully applied for leave for a judicial review in the matter. Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted leave and adjourned the case to February.