A man who admitted taking part in the brutal slaying of an innocent man has had his 15-year sentence backdated because of a delay in charging him.

Michael Kinsella (24), of Swiftbrook Close in Tallaght pleaded guilty last December to manslaughter for his part in the killing of Adil Essalhi at Tyrrelstown, Dublin on January 6, 2011.

In June Justice Deirdre Murphy sentenced him to 15 years, saying it would be “difficult to envisage a more horrific case of manslaughter”.

Mr Essalhi was stabbed and slashed 50 times. Michael Kinsella admitted stabbing him but the prosecution accepted that the majority of the wounds were inflicted by his uncle Wayne Kinsella.

Wayne Kinsella had earlier been sentenced to life for Mr Essalhi’s murder.

Mr Kinsella returned to court today where Justice Murphy said that she would backdate his sentence to begin on December 10, 2014.

Wayne Kinsella was convicted of murdering Mr Essalhi in May 2012 but Michael Kinsella was charged some months after that.

Justice Murphy explained that she was backdating the sentence due to the delay between the completion of the investigation and Michael Kinsella being charged.

During the previous hearing Justice Murphy refused to suspend any part of the sentence but recommended that his term be reduced by one third by the Minister for Justice if he “genuinely engages” with addiction treatment and education and counselling while in prison.