Man jailed for ten years for near-fatal injuries to partner

By Isabel Hayes

A man stabbed his partner in the chest and face while holding her down in their child’s bedroom, causing near-fatal injuries and leaving her permanently disfigured, a court has heard.

The 49-year-old Dublin man, who can’t be named to protect the identity of the children involved, was found guilty by a jury of one count of assault causing serious harm to his then partner at their home on October 20, 2022.

He was also found guilty of one count of assault causing harm to her and two counts of producing a knife following a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial last month. On the first day of the trial, he pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to his stepdaughter on the same date.

He has no previous convictions.

Sentencing him to 10 years’ imprisonment Judge Patricia Ryan said the fact that there was an existing relationship of trust between the accused and the injured parties was an aggravating factor under Domestic Violence legislation.

She said there was additional psychological harm caused as a result of offending behaviour at the hands of someone with whom they had a relationship of trust. She said his culpability is also higher as a result.

She also noted the offending took place in a domestic setting, which was the home of the injured parties. 

The judge noted in mitigation character references from the man’s family, including his mother and a former partner. She took into account his co-operation with the investigation.

She set a headline sentence of concurrent sentences totalling 13 years, which she reduced to ten years, taking into account all the circumstances. She backdated the sentence to 2022 when the man went into custody.

A local detective garda told Jane McGowan BL, defending, that on the day in question, the man left the home he shared with his partner, stepdaughter and severely disabled child around 8.30 am before he returned and attacked his partner without warning.

He dragged her by the hair, punched and kicked her before she ran into her child’s bedroom, and he went to the kitchen where he grabbed a knife. He then followed her into the bedroom, pinned her down and attempted to slit her throat. She moved her head, and he sliced her cheek before stabbing her twice in the chest.

The man then went into his stepdaughter’s bedroom with the knife and attempted to stab her, but she managed to get out of the way with just a scratch to her neck.

Neighbours alerted to the commotion rang emergency services. Some of them who gave evidence at the trial described seeing the woman covered in blood. At one point, the man led his son out of the complex, but he returned with him a short while later and was arrested by gardaí who had arrived at the scene.

The woman spent four days in the hospital being treated for her injuries. She suffered a permanent disfigurement to her face, and the chest wounds were described by her doctor as being “potentially fatal”.

The man gave evidence at trial and denied carrying out the attacks.

Paul Murray SC, defending, asked the court to take into account his client’s lack of previous convictions and good work history. He said he was not in a position to say his client accepts the verdict of the jury.