A father who attacked a woman in her home leaving her with a fractured jaw and a broken tooth has been sentenced to three years with the last 18 months suspended.
Christopher Murphy (23) of Drumcairn Avenue, Tallaght,Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Sabrina Quinn causing her harm on December 9, 2012. His previous convictions are for drug and road traffic offences.
Ms Quinn later told gardaí that “everything went black” after the attack. Her whole jaw had fallen down and there was blood pumping from her face and all over the kitchen.
She later realised she couldn't speak and her neighbour who came into the house told her her jaw was broken.
Ms Quinn was later treated in hospital where her lips were stitched, a tooth was removed and her jaw was set with a steel brace allowing her to eat only blended foods for a number of months.
One of the steel plates in the victim's jaw later snapped and she had to have the surgery carried out again to fix it.
Judge Martin Nolan described Murphy's punches as “savage” and said they caused serious injuries.
He accepted evidence that the father of one has “some good points” and regretted his behaviour on the day before he suspended the final 18 months of a three year sentence on strict conditions.
Garda Laura Owens told Seamus Clarke BL, prosecuting, that Ms Quinn woke that morning having heard voices downstairs and found her sons, her former partner and Murphy in the kitchen.
She said Murphy was “out of his head on something he had taken” and was walking around the kitchen, eating a chocolate sandwich like “he owned the place”.
She told him to get out of the house but he refused. She later took a packet of blue tablets from his hand and flushed them down the toilet. Murphy then followed her ex-partner into one of the bedrooms and she asked him to leave again.
Gda Owens said that Murphy then started to wreck the house, smashing photographs and he and one of her sons “got into a scrap” before the accused punched her twice. A victim impact statement was prepared but not read out in court.
James Dwyer BL, defending handed in a number of letters to the court written by Murphy's grandfather, partner, mother and Murphy himself.
Murphy stated in his letter that he was ashamed and disgusted by his behaviour. He said he was “a careless teenage boy with a lot of anger issues” and apologised for “everything I have done”.
Mr Dwyer said his client was reared by his grandparents who were described by others in the letters before the court as “extraordinary people”.
Counsel said his client had a passion for cooking, was a good father to his two year old child and partner to his pregnant girlfriend. He said Murphy attended for counselling with Pieta House when he was in his mid-teens.