Woman says former partner threatened to burn family home
The defendant sought bail before Castlebar District Court.
A man who appeared before Castlebar District Court on charges of assault causing harm and criminal damage has been refused bail.
The defendant, who cannot be named due to reporting restrictions imposed by the court, was living in the same house as his former partner when gardaí were called to a disturbance at 11.45pm on June 29 last.
The defendant was arrested and held in custody until he was brought before the court the following day. He was remanded in custody from that court to appear before Castlebar District Court on July 7 when he sought bail.
The defendant had no solicitor due to the withdrawal of free legal aid services as a result of the ongoing national dispute with the Department of Justice.
The State strenuously objected to granting bail on several counts, including the seriousness of the alleged offences and the threat the defendant still posed to his former partner, who told the court that she was in fear for her safety as she believed her ex-partner would return to the house and threaten her.
The investigating garda said the woman had alleged that the defendant came into her bedroom on January 29 and grabbed her mobile phone after accusing her of being unfaithful. She also said he hit her in the chest and screamed at her and their teenage daughter.
The court heard that some of the incidents were recorded by the teenager on her mobile phone until the defendant smashed it.
It was further alleged that the defendant was screaming and shouting at his ex-partner and their daughter and threatened to burn the family home. It was said that he went outside, brought in a can of petrol and started to pour it all over the sitting room, while also pouring some of the petrol over his ex-partner. It was further stated that he struck the woman four or five times and threw her on the ground before grabbing her around the neck.
Gardaí said that when they arrived at the scene, they noticed bruising and spattering of blood on the woman. The defendant was in a highly intoxicated state and verbally abused gardaí.
The woman told the court she fears for her safety and has no doubt the defendant will return to the house to hurt her if he is granted bail. She said her ex-partner had been constantly drinking and, although he gave it up for a short period, he went back drinking again.
“Things have got out of hand due to his constant drinking. We can’t live like this anymore,” she told Judge Michael Connellan.
The defendant told the judge that he was extremely remorseful for what he had done and apologised to his ex-partner.
“I never intended to hurt anyone and I want to apologise to anyone I did hurt with all my heart,” said the defendant, who handed in a statement of apology that he had written in prison.
Judge Connellan said that given the seriousness of the allegations and the concerns raised in court, he was remanding the defendant in custody to July 15 when he could make another application for bail.
