Man jailed for assault on his then partner
The case was heard at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A man has been jailed for assaulting his then partner.
David Ellis, aged 63, of Upper Carrowbeg, Westport, previously contested the case and was found guilty by a jury at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court. He had also denied a charge of criminal damage.
His ex-partner said he left her with bruised kidneys, a swollen face, and a cut tailbone after a late-night argument at her home on July 7, 2019. The pair had been in a relationship since 2006 but it ended in 2020.
The woman said on the night of the attack they went for dinner in Cobbler’s in Westport and afterwards drank and listened to music in the adjoining bar.
She said Ellis became upset when she started talking to a man who was offering her a job. The injured party said the accused also became angry when she hugged a young manager in the hotel who was having difficulties with some patrons. She alleged that Ellis asked her: “Is that the sort of f***ing man you’re into.” She said he was also unhappy when she briefly spoke to an American man who was playing games on his phone. The victim claimed her former partner asked her “Are you trying to get off with him as well?” They returned home and went to bed. She attempted to give Ellis a kiss to try and calm the tensions but he shrugged her off and an argument broke out.
She said when she tried to get away, Ellis ran after her and started kicking the door. The door came down on top of her and she fell back.
The victim ran to the bedroom and the accused “charged after her". She said Ellis flipped the bed over causing her to bang her head off a radiator. She recalled being dragged along the floor and after leaving the room Ellis then returned and got on top of her.
“I couldn’t breathe,” she stated.
The woman claimed Ellis threatened to slit her throat if she didn’t stop crying.
The injured party told the court she ran from the house in a bathrobe and hid in the doorway of a B&B until Ellis was gone.
When the case came before the court again last week for sentencing, a victim impact statement from the injured party was read into the court record.
The woman said she had been left with lasting psychological scars and the legal proceedings caused her overwhelming stress.
Judge Eoin Garavan said Ellis’ actions were fuelled by “enraged jealousy". He labelled the relationship “toxic” and said if Ellis was “going to beat up a woman in her house” he had to prepared to face the consequences.
The judge imposed a two-year jail term, suspending the final 14 months.
