A man who strangled his heavily pregnant partner, beat her with an iron bar, locked her inside a toilet, urinated on her, and poured bleach along with heating oil over her during what a judge called ‘a savage and prolonged attack’, has received a six-year prison sentence, reports The Mirror.
In the ‘harrowing and ferocious ordeal’ where the woman believed she was going to die, Matthew King (25) pulled her from marshy ground where he assaulted her with the iron bar and then confined her in a caravan toilet, where he doused her head with bleach and heating oil.
King then exposed himself to her, and after she refused to engage in a sexual act, he struck her on the head and urinated on her, Dundalk Circuit Court was told on Tuesday, reports The Mirror.
King, from Rassan, Hackballscross in Dundalk, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to non-fatal strangulation of the woman, assault causing harm, false imprisonment, and production of a metal bar on April 24, 2024, at Hackballscross. He has 60 previous convictions, reports The Mirror.
Summarising evidence presented on an earlier date, Judge Dara Hayes noted that King and the woman were in a relationship, she was eight months pregnant, and both struggled with addiction issues while trying to support one another.
There had been some instances of infidelity by King, but they reconciled, and the day before the ‘harrowing and ferocious ordeal’, messages on King’s phone indicated further infidelity, the court was informed, reports The Mirror.
On the day of the assault, King and the woman took a taxi to the caravan where he resided at Hackballscross, and the taxi driver reported to gardaí that they were arguing during the journey. Upon arriving at the land with the caravan, King strangled the woman until she lost consciousness.
He then offered her a metal bar to help her stand once she came to, but proceeded to beat her legs with it, and she told gardaí she was ‘too sore and worn out to defend’ herself, reports The Mirror.
King subsequently dragged her into the caravan, locked her in the toilet, poured bleach and heating oil over her head, and exposed himself, but when she declined to perform a sex act, he struck her head and urinated on her. He then claimed the caravan was on fire, forcing her to escape through a broken window, the court heard, reports The Mirror.
She initially resisted going to hospital, the court was told, but a friend persuaded her to seek treatment. She sustained injuries to her ankles, lost teeth, facial swelling, cuts across her body, concerns about her kidneys, and worries over foetal movement, though the baby was later born without any adverse effects.
In her victim impact statement, which was read on a previous date, she stated: “Life is hard. The attack has affected everything. I tried to protect my unborn baby and thought I was going to die. I am afraid to leave the house and things will never be the same again.”
The court heard that King turned to alcohol and drugs in his early teens after learning he was adopted from the US. He felt he ‘did not know himself or his identity and felt his parents loved his siblings in a different way,’ the court was told, reports The Mirror.
His parents had provided him with a caravan on land at Hackballscross to ‘try and provide a stable residence’ for him during his 20s. He had been in foster care since age 15 ‘due to mental health issues and issues with drink and drugs,’ the court heard. At 21, he became addicted to heroin and attempted to self-medicate to address his addiction problems.
Judge Dara Hayes stated: “domestic violence is very serious. It was a prolonged attack on a heavily pregnant woman and it is reprehensible,” reports The Mirror.
The judge acknowledged that King had made full admissions and demonstrated remorse. Although he had limited recollection of the incident, he accepted his guilt, the court was informed. The judge described it as a “savage, cruel and prolonged attack on an intimate partner,” reports The Mirror.
“She was eight months pregnant and the duration and degradation of the attack has to be taken into consideration. He humiliated her by urinating on her, tied her hands, poured bleach and oil on her and she lost consciousness,” the judge said, reports The Mirror.
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