Man jailed after woman left 'haunted' by violent assault in Bundoran

A man who subjected his former partner to a violent assault - during which he threatened to kill her - has been jailed.

Keith White Turner, who forced his way into a bedroom before throwing a TV at the woman and throwing her across the room on a mattress, was handed a two-year prison term when he appeared at Donegal Circuit Court.

White Turner was charged in connection with an incident Judge John Aylmer said left the victim “haunted” by fear.

White Turner - who claimed to have been a professional boxer when spoken to by Gardai - was charged with assaulting the woman and causing her harm at Finner Avenue, Bundoran, on June 25, 2022. 

The 48-year-old, who previously lived in Bundoran, but now resides in Cork, was also charged with making a threat to kill and with causing criminal damage. The threat to kill and criminal damage charges could be marked as taken into consideration on a full facts basis, the court was told.

Garda Claire O’Hara outlined the case to State Barrister Ms Fiona Crawford BL.

The woman was out socialising with a number of other females and there was an altercation between her and White Turner in a public house. When a friend of the woman tried to intervene, White Turner told her to “fuck off”.

She left the premises to go home as she was feeling upset. The woman returned home at around 10.30pm and White Turner remained at the bar. 

She said she was feeling “sick” due to the “carry on” with White Turner and said she wanted to get out of the relationship. She said if they were going out, White Turner would always go out first and then would try to make her jealous by dancing with other women. 

The woman said she decided that she “had enough” when she returned home on the night in question.

White Turner returned to the property and forced open her bedroom door, breaking the lock in the process.

White Turner threw a television at the woman and started smashing things in the room. He also threw perfume bottles at the woman, who was attempting to protect herself by taking cover under a duvet.

The woman outlined to Gardai that she was in the fetal position on the bed when White Turner lifted the mattress and, with the woman still on it, threw it across the room. 

White Turner then put his hands around her neck “with a lot of force”. While he then walked away to the kitchen, he came back, grabbed her by the neck and hit her on the face with the palm of his hand.

During the terrifying incident, White Turner told the woman that she would be “dead in the morning”.

She told investigating officers: “He was shouting at me: ‘Where are all your friends now? No-one is going to hear you. You’re going to die’. I could see lots of saliva and he was so angry”.

The woman told Gardai that she was “very afraid” and thought White Turner was going to kill her.

She said she was in “so much shock” that she didn’t realise the pain she was in.

When Gardai arrived, White Turner - who claimed to be a professional boxer - told them to “fuck off”. He was described as being aggressive and was also said to have been intoxicated. 

He continued to be aggressive, threatening and cursing, calling one Garda “a fucking grey-haired ****’”, and was said to have been uncooperative when interviewed.

A victim impact statement on behalf of the woman was handed in to Judge Aylmer, but was not read in court. 

Mr Simon Gillespie BL, barrister for White Turner, instructed by solicitor Mr Martin Burke, said his client is a 48-year-old man with one previous conviction - for speeding.

Mr Gillespie said that White Turner, a chef by trade, resided in Donegal at the time, but now resides in Cork with a new partner.

He said White Turner wished to express “remorse, regret and shame for the manner he acted and the injuries he caused”.

Mr Gillespie said that his client had offered €3,500 to the victim as a token of remorse, something which represented “significant saving and effort by him”.

While a probation report was not complementary to White Turner’s attitude towards his offending behaviour - saying he did not accept some of what the injured woman had said - Mr Gillespie said he now “fully accepts” her version of events. 

He said the accused man’s version was “hazed” by the fact that he was intoxicated. He said he now wished to express “regret, shame and embarrassment” over the incident.

“For the avoidance of doubt, he fully accepts the injured party’s version of events and is not hiding behind it,” Mr Gillespie said.

White Turner is due to start in the Choices programme in January, Mr Gillespie said, asking Judge Aylmer to be as lenient as possible while two references were handed in on White Turner’s behalf.

Sentencing White Turner, Judge Aylmer said the incident represented a “very serious and violent assault” that included a “credible threat to kill her”.

“It was very credible that the complainant thought that she was going to die,” Judge Aylmer said. “It comes as no surprise that this was an extremely traumatising assault, physically and psychologically. She required therapy and medication for a long time as a consequence. She is still haunted with feelings of insecurity, fragility and constant fear of death.”

Judge Aylmer said the incident was “firmly in the upper end” of the scale and, before considering mitigation, merited four years imprisonment.

Judge Aylmer said he did not accept a proposition that the Probation Service had fallen into error or misunderstanding and said he was satisfied that White Turner was “less than forthright”.

The judge said that a suggestion by White Turner that he was never physically abusive to any woman “flies in the face of the record that discloses two previous applications for protection orders” against him. The Probation Service deemed White Turner as being of a high risk of further violence to an intimate partner. 

Judge Aylmer said he could treat White Turner’s plea as being an early one and said he had no relevant previous convictions.

The sentence was reduced to one of three years and Judge Aylmer said the case was “far too serious” to consider a fully suspended sentence. 

In the interest of rehabilitation, Judge Aylmer suspended the final 12 months of the three-year sentence for a period of 12 months.

White Turner entered a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months. He will also go under the supervision of the Probation Service and was ordered to comply with all directions.