A woman who called to her ex-partner's apartment one morning and stabbed him in the torso has been given a suspended two-year sentence and ordered to pay him €2,000.
Charlene Lynham (38) was armed with a knife and in an intoxicated state when she knocked on the door of her former partner Colm Black in 2020, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Monday.
A struggle ensued, during which Lynham stabbed Mr Black in the torso, creating a small wound, and said: “I've stabbed you now, good enough.” The victim said he thought Lynham looked “crazy and out of it,” the court heard.
Other people who were present in the apartment at the time managed to wrestle the knife from Lynham, resulting in her wounding her hand.
Lynham, of Castleland Court, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to Mr Black at his home on Bridge St, Balbriggan on October 4th, 2020.
Recovery
A garda told Joseph Barnes BL, prosecuting, that he was called to the apartment around 11am on the day in question.
Paramedics were called for the victim, but he refused medical help, treating himself with painkillers and later seeing his GP.
He has since made a full recovery, the court heard.
Mr Black told gardaí he did not know why Lynham did what she did, adding that she had been in his apartment two days before the attack and there had been no problems. He did not make a victim impact statement to the court.
Lynham has no previous convictions and has not come to Garda attention since the incident.
Kieran Kelly BL, defending, said his client had been texting her former partner the night before and was upset and intoxicated when she called to his house. It was an “on and off” relationship, the court heard.
Sentencing Lynham on Monday, Judge Martin Nolan said the accused appeared to have been provoked by texts between her and Mr Black due to her state of mind at the time.
“To attack someone with a knife is a serious matter,” he said. However, he took into account a number of mitigating factors including her lack of criminal history and said she is unlikely to reoffend.
The judge handed down a two-year suspended sentence and ordered Lynham to pay Mr Black €2,000 within one year.
