Man (24) jailed for eight years for aggravated burglary in which woman suffered wrench attack

Sonya McLean

A man has been jailed for eight years for his role in an aggravated burglary during which a woman was attacked with a wrench in the bedroom of her home.

William Doyle (24) of Knocknarea Road, Drimnagh, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to aggravated burglary on November 20th, 2021. His co-accused, who was responsible for the attack on the woman and a second attack on her husband, has previously been jailed for 12 years.

It was accepted in court that while Doyle was in the house during the burglary, he did not expect that his accomplice would attack the homeowners in the manner he did.

He was 19 years old at the time of the burglary and had initially denied the offences and elected for trial. He then fled to the UK and was arrested and extradited back to Ireland in July this year.

Garda Stephen Daly told Simon Matthews BL, prosecuting, that the woman woke to an intruder in her bedroom just before midnight that night. There was a baby in a cot beside her bed.

She initially thought it was someone else who lived in the house coming into her room, but the man shouted, “get the f**king keys, give me the keys of the car” before he “launched” an attack on her, hitting her about the head and face with a wrench.

She later required stitches to a cut around her left eye and to the back of her head.

The burglar also attacked her husband that night, who had been in the sitting room watching television. He was struck on the head with the wrench about seven times, and again the keys were demanded from him.

It was the man who heard Doyle also in the house. He said this other burglar said, “come on, let’s go”, before both men left the house.

The man later told gardaí that it was the most terrifying incident he had ever experienced, and he thought he was going to die that night.

Gda Daly said neighbours witnessed the men leaving the house and were able to provide gardaí with details of the vehicle they drove off in. That was later tracked down to Tyrconnell Road, Dublin 8 and followed, but the burglars escaped before the gardaí could catch them.

The van was abandoned, and gardaí recovered a blood-covered wrench from the vehicle.

Doyle was ultimately nominated as a suspect.

Gardaí also later secured CCTV footage of Doyle and his accomplice buying gloves, two hammers, a scissors and the wrench.

Doyle was arrested in April 2021. He was interviewed, and later a trial date was fixed, but he failed to show up to court. He has 20 previous convictions, 11 from Ireland and the rest from the UK. He has convictions for road traffic offences and attempted fraud.

A victim impact statement from the man said he considers himself lucky because he could be dead.

“I got smashed into the head so many times,” he said, describing blood getting into his eyes and being unable to defend himself. He was left with cuts on his head and face.

His wife said she suffers flashbacks and gets afraid that someone will come through her bedroom door.

“I can still feel the fear of him hitting me in bed,” she said before she added that they were left “shocked, powerless and very vulnerable”.

Gda Daly agreed with Pieter Le Vert BL, defending that Doyle called the co-accused “a scumbag” when gardaí reminded him what had happened during the raid.

Mr Le Vert said Doyle fled the country because “he was just terrified of what could happen to him”.

He said he became drug-free in the UK and got engaged. Doyle offered his “heartfelt apologies”, and Mr Le Vert said he is “appalled having any role in this whatsoever”.

Judge Martin Nolan said the couple were “savagely attacked” by the other man and noted the “graphic” photograph of the woman’s injuries.

“I don’t think he (Doyle) expected him to attack in a savage way, but he must take responsibility as he was there,” Judge Nolan continued before he added that Doyle “deserves a serious term of imprisonment”.

He said the couple’s “peace of mind” has been greatly impacted before he imposed a nine-year sentence. He suspended the final year of that term.