Monster, 43, who knifed brother’s girlfriend in chest & left her to bleed out on kitchen floor jailed for 10 years

A MAN who stabbed his brother’s girlfriend to death before leaving her to bleed out on her kitchen floor has been jailed for ten years.

Joseph Butler, 43, plunged a knife over 11 centimetres into the chest of helpless mum-of-two Paula Canty, 31, at the Cork flat she shared with his brother — just three days before her birthday.

The heartless thug initially insisted to Gardai he “didn’t feel guilty” about the horrific attack, claiming it was an “accident” and that Paula was “grand” when he left.

Butler, originally from Midleton, Co Cork, was living with his brother Michael John and Paula at The Belfry, Bridewell Lane, Mallow, at the time of the horror assault on January 3, 2025.

He was originally charged with murder, but the DPP later accepted a plea of guilty to manslaughter.

At the Central Criminal Court in Cork, Judge Eileen Creedon dismissed Butler’s sob story and hit out at his total lack of remorse.

Handing down a 12-year sentence with two suspended, Judge Creedon tore into the killer for leaving Paula to die without raising the alarm.

He said: “Paula Canty was a vulnerable person, and was much smaller and physically weaker than Joseph Butler.

“It is not credible that she posed a danger to him that required him to plunge a knife 11.5 centimetres into her chest.

“He left the apartment and there was no call to the emergency services. This demonstrates a callousness.”

The judge added that Butler’s claims were completely shattered by post-mortem results and forensic blood-spatter evidence.

Grieving family members previously delivered devastating victim impact statements, describing how their lives were shattered by the tragic mum’s death.

Paula’s heartbroken mum, Sinead, described her “beloved darling daughter” as a creative, soft-natured woman who excelled at flower arranging, saying she was stolen from them in the “prime of her youth.”

She added: “Paula and I had a very close bond, and she was like a best friend to me.

“My heart breaks, but I will never receive just one phone call from her again,”

Brother Darragh branded Butler a “monster” in his statement, telling the court: “It eats me alive that I could not protect her from that monster of a man.

“She was left in a pool of her own blood just three days before her birthday.”

Sister Rianna revealed the family had been preparing to throw Paula a 32nd birthday party, but were instead forced to plan her funeral, adding that Paula had been robbed of the chance to watch her two children grow into adults.

Judge Creedon praised the Canty family for their powerful statements, acknowledging the unimaginable grief and permanent hole left in their lives.

Monster Butler was ordered to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years following his release.