This article is from page 12 of the 2008-12-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE sister of a man accused of rap- ing and threatening to kill his preg- nant ex-partner has told a jury that she spoke to her brother on the phone during the alleged incident and he told her he wanted to commit sui- cide.
She said the accused told her eve- rything was “ok” and she also talked to the complainant, after hearing that her brother had hit her and the wom- an confirmed that she was not hurt.
“She said she was fine and it was not serious,’ the witness told the jury.
She said she asked her brother to ei- ther put the gun down or throw it out the window and leave the house.
She said she asked him, “Do you realise that the police think this is a hostage situation?” as that was what their father had earlier told her.
When asked by counsel if her broth- er was obsessed with the complain- ant, the witness replied “He loved her very much but I am not qualified to say if he was obsessed with her”.
The accused’s brother told the court that he rang the man after his sister called him. He said that his brother told him he was going to kill him-
self.
The trial was also told that a cousin of the accused contacted gardai be- cause he was worried about the man’s welfare after he noticed that his own shotgun and cartridges were missing from his home.
The witness said he “thought of the accused” because the man was de- pressed and was going through his own troubles. He went to the garda station after he spoke to the accused on the phone and realised he was in the company of his ex-partner.
He later talked to his cousin, with the phone on loudspeaker so the
gardai could listen in on their con- versation, during which the accused admitted he had hit his ex-partner AUN eM Melomcae tee
Sergeant Brian Howard said he took over the phone from the accused’s cousin and reassured the man that his and his ex-partner’s welfare were priority for the gardai and confirmed that they would not storm the house.
He also told him that he would give him any assistance, medical or oth- erwise, that he required.
Sgt Howard said he made an agree- ment with the accused to leave the shotgun in the back of his cousin’s
car and the man later complied with Wek
He then met the accused and the complainant at the back of her home and arrested him under the Mental Health Act.
On the way to the station the ac- cused started to cry and the com- plainant, who had asked to travel in the patrol car with him, leaned over and held his hand for the rest of the journey.
Sgt Howard said the complainant was injured and appeared to be both frightened and shocked.