Man guilty of strangling woman despite victim's testimony in 'dark and disturbing' trial
The 'dark and disturbing case' was heard at Waterford Circuit Court.
A jury in Waterford has found a man guilty of strangling a woman, despite the woman's witness testimony.
The man, who will not be named to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded not guilty to five charges at Waterford Circuit Court. The charges included two counts of strangulation, one count of Section 3 assault causing harm, one count of criminal damage and one count of production of an article, to wit a knife.
The first four charges all stem from one incident at a domestic residence in County Waterford in late 2023.
The jury of six women and six men heard witness evidence from the victim, doctors and Gardaí. On the stand, the woman claimed that she had "fabricated" the claims of violence. She was treated as a hostile witness and the jury heard from her initial statement to Gardaí in the days following the incident.
According to this statement, the man and woman had been in a long-term relationship and shared a young child. They had split up due to the man's infidelity but stayed in contact.
On the night in question, the man and woman had a few drinks in a local pub. Later the woman and her child went back to her home, where the man's mother also lived. The man made his way into the home and began attacking the woman, strangling her while shouting: "You will know what it is like to take your last breath."
The woman sustained extensive injuries on her body, mainly her neck and head. There was blood on her hair. At one point, he was outside the home and smashed a window, sustaining a cut to his hand.
The man's mother called Gardaí, who quickly arrived in a white van and observed the victim and took the man into custody. The man's mother's nightgown was reportedly "covered in blood".
The jury saw photographs taken by Gardaí of the woman's injuries, which were described as "consistent with the statement". There were photos of blood stains on the walls and on her hair.
Several months after the attack, the victim tried to withdraw her statement, citing that what she alleged was true but she did not want her child to grow up without a father. At the trial, she told the jury that she was the aggressor and sustained the injuries from "pushing and shoving".
State Prosecutor Conor O'Doherty told the jury that it was a "dark and disturbing case" where the "witness is putting herself at fault".
Mr O'Doherty said that due to that the complex nature of domestic violence, the victim was "doing everything she can to absolve him [the defendant] of responsibility".
The jury returned guilty verdicts on the four charges relating to the incident at the domestic residence, and not guilty of the charge of production of an article. All verdicts were unanimous. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Laws against non-fatal strangulation are a relatively new addition to the Irish statute book, having been included in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 as a stand alone offence. Former Minister for Justice Helen McEntee stated in 2022: "Strangulation is highly prevalent in domestic abuse and frequently used as a tool of coercion, often accompanied by threats to kill."
