A jury has today begun considering its verdict in the trial of a Polish man who denies attempting to murder his partner by suffocating her with underwear and beating her with a hammer.
Justice Patrick McCarthy told the six men and six women there are three possible verdicts open to them - guilty, not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity.
Tomas Gajowniczek (aged 37) of The Ice Rink Apartments, Dolphin's Barn, Dublin 8 has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the attempted murder of Alicja Kalinowska (aged 30) at their home on June 16, 2016.
He also pleaded not guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Ms Kalinowska on the same date at the same location.
Justice McCarthy explained that they should first consider whether the accused man assaulted Ms Kalinowska and intended to kill her. Should they find that he did, they should then consider the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
For that verdict, the accused must prove that as a result of a mental disorder he was unable to refrain from his actions at the time of the alleged offence. The judge added that the defence must prove their case on the balance of probabilities.
During the trial, the jury heard from Ms Kalinowska who said that she was helping the accused with his taxes when he accused her of hiding something from him and punched her in the face, stuffed underwear in her mouth and held her nose to stop her breathing. She said he then beat her with a hammer before pouring a drink down her throat until she passed out.
Dr Conor O'Neill of the Central Mental Hospital said Mr Gajowniczek was suffering from a mental disorder at the time and believed that his partner was poisoning or drugging him and their then two-year-old daughter. Professor Damian Mohan told the trial that he disagreed with his colleague. He said the accused was "acutely intoxicated" from cannabis use and suffering a drug-induced psychosis, which he said is not a mental disorder under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006.
The jury spent about 40 minutes considering their verdict and will return to the Central Criminal Court tomorrow.