A 38-year-old man described in court character references as "friendly, polite and compassionate" held down his girlfriend and told her, "you are not leaving this house bitch until you are dead", during a vodka-fuelled assault in Co Clare, a court has heard.
At Kilrush Circuit Court on Tuesday, Garda Johnathan Ryan said the 27-year-old woman fled the apartment on Parnell Street in Ennis by foot and ran down Abbey Street to the local Garda station.
She reached the station at 11.55pm on May 26th, 2023, with bruises all over her body following the one-hour ordeal.
Colin Curtis, formerly of Horseshoe Grove, Crusheen, Co Clare, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and threatening to kill his then girlfriend on May 26th, 2023, at the apartment on Parnell Street.
Counsel for the State, Lorcan Connolly SC, instructed by State Solicitor Aisling Casey, said the woman said Curtis punched her in the face and pulled her around the sitting room "like a rag doll".
Mr Connolly told the court the woman had numerous injuries to her head, including a lump on her forehead and swelling on both sides of her jaw, when she went to Ennis Garda station on the night in question.
Mr Connolly said the woman’s chin was bleeding, while she also had marks on her neck and arms, and fresh bruises on both of her legs.
Garda Ryan said the victim told him she had just been assaulted by her boyfriend, and he noted that one injury to the side of her upper face was particularly noticeable.
Garda Ryan said officers then went to the apartment where they found blood spatters inside the door and various locations around the kitchen.
Garda Ryan said gardaí had to break down the locked bedroom door, where they found Curtis asleep.
The garda told the court a neighbour in the adjoining apartment heard a woman's voice saying "stop it, stop it", adding the screaming went on for an hour.
Garda Ryan said Curtis was not fit to be interviewed that night. When interviewed the following day, he was co-operative and admitted the assault and was apologetic and very remorseful when shown images of the woman's injuries.
The garda said two bottles of vodka had been drank on the day of the incident. He told the court the couple had shared the first bottle, before Curtis drank the second bottle on his own.
The court heard Curtis has 25 previous convictions, mainly concerning road traffic offences.
Bad incident
The woman did not wish to submit a victim impact statement, and the court heard there has been no communication between the pair since the incident.
Counsel for Curtis, Patrick Whyms BL, instructed by solicitor Tara Godfrey, told the court Curtis wishes to apologise to the woman.
Describing it as a "bad incident", Mr Whyms said what occurred was "out of character" for his client. "There is no previous offending of this sort at all, but he knows he can’t get a pass on bad behaviour because of that," counsel said.
Mr Whyms said Curtis had attended court with €3,000 to give to the victim, adding an additional €1,500 is available and can be paid to the woman if she is willing to accept it.
Counsel also submitted a number of character references for Curtis.
The court heard Curtis moved to Ireland from the UK in 1999 and had lived in Dublin and Galway before moving to Co Clare.
Mr Whyms said his client is a person who had been drifting from one small crisis to another, escalating to drink, drugs and this serious matter.
Judge Francis Comerford remanded Curtin on counting bail ahead of sentencing later this week.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.
Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
