Man jailed for extremely violent and gruesome assault at Waterford hotel
Waterford Courthouse
A man has been jailed for a vicious assault he carried out on another man at Treacy’s Hotel in Waterford City.
The attack was described as “mindless, prolonged and vicious” by presiding Judge Eugene O’Kelly.
It had devastating physical and mental impacts on the victim, and he was lucky to have survived.
Jamie Murphy (28), with an address at 62, The Commons, Blackpool, in County Cork, was charged with assault causing serious harm, along with several other subsidiary counts, including damage to property, two counts of public order and two counts of impeding a peace officer.
He appeared at Waterford Courthouse via videolink from Cork Prison.
On June 9, 2023, Jamie Murphy took a bus from Cork to Waterford alongside the victim, who was 43 years old at the time.
Alcohol was consumed before and during the bus journey.
They arrived at Treacy’s Hotel on the quay, where they had booked a room for the night.
Shortly after arriving at the hotel, the victim was attacked by Murphy.
The assault started on the street outside the hotel and made its way inside the front door.
Graphic CCTV footage of the incident was played during court proceedings last week.
An investigating garda member described that the victim was hit with an initial strike and fell to the ground limp.
Murphy then knelt over the unconscious man and began striking him continuously; six times with his left fist, and then six times with his right fist.
The garda member said that with every blow, the victims face distorted and changed.
Murphy fled the scene, leaving his victim gasping for breath and covered in blood.
CPR was performed by a nurse who was in the area, before paramedics arrived and gave the man oxygen. He was rushed to University Hospital Waterford.
There were significant cardiac concerns, and he spent five days in ICU. He lost teeth and suffered multiple facial fractures.
Shortly after fleeing the scene, gardaí issued an alert for Murphy.
He was spotted soon after by gardaí with his fists covered in blood.
Murphy resisted arrest, and whilst at Waterford Garda Station, he spat at a garda member.
He was deemed unfit for interview due to intoxication. His interview took place the following morning and he made no comment to all questions.
He was charged and put into custody.
The victim appeared in court to read his victim impact statement.
He described how he was “very close to becoming another murder victim” and that he was told by doctors he was lucky to survive.
He now suffers from “extreme anxiety, vertigo and poor balance.”
He said that due to the impacts of the incident, he was forced to stop competing in athletics. A once accomplished athlete, he had won a Munster championship shortly before the attack.
He said that he is still haunted by the incident, and thanked the detectives involved in the case.
Judge Eugene O’Kelly described the impact statement as “poignant and elegant”.
In sentencing the man, Judge O’Kelly said that Murphy “treated his victim as a punch bag.”
He added that the assault had a “devastating effect” on the victim.
For the offences, Jamie Murphy received a total sentence of seven years and six months with the final nine months suspended.
