Man told wife nobody would find her body in nearby bog
A man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after the court heard he assaulted his former wife, threw her purse into a fire, and threatened to kill her.
The 68-year-old was charged with assault causing harm, criminal damage, and threats to kill or cause serious harm, in Trim Circuit Court.
Detective Garda Jamie McKeown told the court the two met each other and married in 1982 in Meath. The injured party stopped working in 1989 and became a stay-at-home parent who was financially dependent on her husband. The court was told it was a difficult relationship with constant arguments over how money was spent in the house and on the kids.
The first incident occurred on 16th March 2003, the day before Father’s Day, after a night out between the two. The court heard after coming home the accused was shouting at his wife, calling her mean because she didn’t buy him a drink. It was said in court he took her phone and handbag and threw them into the fire in front of her and the following day, he said it was all her fault.
The court heard in February 2009 the accused came up behind the injured party and wrapped a tea towel around her neck. He pointed to a tree in the garden and said he could hang her there. Their 16-year-old son came into the kitchen and stopped him.
The court was also told of another separate incident where the accused showed his wife a spot close to a bog saying no one would find her body there.
The relationship continued until a separation in 2013 but they continued to live in the same home. During this period the court heard in March 2016 he wanted to have sex with the injured party but she refused before he kicked and punched her out of the bed. The injured party received a cut when she fell out of the bed that needed seven to nine stitches.
A probation order was issued in July 2023 and he was directed to leave the home for several months. Detective McKeown told the court on 29th December of that year the accused was outside the garage and the injured party told him to stay and to not make contact with her family, saying she was getting a divorce.
It was told in court the accused said “you and your dirty divorce, I’ll cut your throat” and ran his finger along his neck.
The accused was arrested on 16th January 2024 and interviewed by Gardai. During interviews he said it was a good relationship but it had financial demands and his children in college were a financial burden on him. He accepts he might have pushed her on occasion but said he didn’t intentionally hurt her and didn’t accept the allegations. He accepted the 2003 criminal damage allegation when it was put to him but he recalled replacing it and its contents.
It was heard in court a statement taken from their children backed up the injured party’s claims and the accused pleaded guilty before a jury was panelled.
In her victim impact statement read to the court, the injured party said she was a confident and positive person before her marriage but her husband destroyed the person she was before.
She told the court “I was a prisoner in my own home and I could not escape”.
She was made to feel worthless and told the court “I lived in constant fear”, doing anything to protect herself and her kids.
He isolated her from friends and her family and was told “nobody wanted me, not even my own family”.
She said some dinners were not up to his standards and they were either thrown to the dogs or into the bin. She would have to beg him for money for basics such as food and clothing and was given a weekly allowance. They would have to sit down and explain every bill, including phone bills for calling her family.
She said her three children gave her courage and support and “they made realise my life mattered”. The court heard she still experiences fear and hypervigilance but is trying to rebuild her life.
Judge John Martin these offences are “some terrible wrongs perpetrated by you (the accused)”.
Defending barrister Patrick Purcell told the court he has acknowledged his many wrongs through a guilty plea and didn’t want to put her or the children through trial proceedings. He has since attended counselling and anger management courses and had €1,000 in court to pay Meath Women’s Refuge.
Mr Purcell told the court his client has a long work history and set up his own health and safety company until he retired.
Judge Martin acknowledged the accused is with counselling but said it was a shame he didn’t do it earlier and save his family what he put them through.
The judge also said the fact he presented himself as a model gentlemen outside the home is “to me, the pure characterisation of a bully”.
The accused was given a two and a half year prison sentence with an additional six months suspended. This is on condition he maintains a peace bond, is put in care of probation services and attends all courses they put to him, attend and complete Move programme for men against violence and is to make no contact with the injured party.
Judge Martin said to the injured party after sentencing that no person should have been subjected to the same abuse as her and he wished her and her family the best.
- Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme