Man told his partner’s ex he would decapitate him
Eimear Dodd
A man threatened his partner’s ex, saying he would decapitate him, go at his legs with a drill and dismember him, a court has heard.
The 42-year-old man pleaded guilty to making a threat to kill or cause serious harm in November 2022. He has no previous convictions. He can’t be named for legal reasons.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday that the injured party received a series of six calls over the space of 20 minutes on the night in question from the man, making a number of threats.
The defendant is the partner of the injured party’s ex-girlfriend and identified himself on the call.
He threatened to kill the injured party in Polish, saying he was going to cut him and cut off his head.
He said he knew where the complainant lived and could be there in 20 minutes to carry out the threats.
He said he was his executioner and would go at his legs with a drill, smash his head against a curb and dismember him after dragging him from his house. He also made threats to decapitate and kill the injured party.
The injured party used an app on his phone to record the conversations, which were downloaded by gardaí. The recordings were later translated and transcribed.
The man was interviewed in September 2023, and made full admissions. He identified his voice on the recordings and expressed his regret.
The investigating garda agreed with Keith Spencer, defending, that the man claimed he made the threats because the injured party had allegedly been harassing his girlfriend.
The court heard that the man’s partner had a protection order in place against the injured party, her ex. The garda told the court that no breaches of the protection order were formally reported and the injured party did not give a reason as to why the threats were made.
It was accepted that the defendant made the threats while he had been drinking.
He also told gardaí that he accepted the injured party would have been afraid and apologised, saying it was a “big regret” and he had learnt he shouldn’t drink.
The court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed summary disposal, but jurisdiction was refused by the District Court.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecuting counsel Jane McCudden, the injured party said he has a “nagging sense of danger” and attack. He said he still feels intimidated and was badly affected by the incident.
Spencer asked the court to consider his client’s work history, early guilty plea and apologies.
He said the threats made were serious but were the “ramblings and aggression” of a drunken man. Counsel said his instructions are that his client was “at the end of his tether trying to protect his partner from the ongoing attentions” of her ex.
He said his client has tried to avoid contact with the injured party since this incident, which was “caused by a rush of blood to the head” when he was “very frustrated”.
Spencer asked the court to consider non-custodial options.
Judge Elma Sheahan noted that the man has no previous convictions and has not come to Garda attention since this incident.
She directed the preparation of a probation report, "or a greater sense of his presentation in terms of these matters,” and adjourned the case to July, remanding the man on continuing bail.
