A man has been sentenced to 90 years in jail for the attempted murder of Co. Armagh woman Natasha McShane and her friend during a night out in Chicago four years ago.

Heriberto Viramontes (aged 35) was convicted at Cook County Criminal Court in the US last October. He was today sentenced to 90 years in prison.

Natasha and her friend Stacy Jurich were attacked and robbed as they walked home after a night out in the early hours of April 23, 2010.

The vicious assault left Ms McShane with severe brain damage, and she is now unable to talk or walk unaided.

The 27-year-old, from Silverbridge in Co Armagh, had been attending the University of Illinois at the time of the assault.

Viramontes' accomplice Marcy Cruz was jailed for 22 years last July after pleading guilty to two counts of attempted murder over the attack.