Woman beaten, burned, stabbed and had her nail pulled off with pliers in 'savage' attack in Louth

A man who attacked a woman over the June bank holiday weekend last year, during which she was beaten, kicked, burned and had a thumb nail pulled out, has been jailed at Dundalk Circuit Court for six years and nine months.

Judge Dara Hayes said he had not come across a Section 3 assault of such savagery either on the bench or beforehand in practice (as a barrister).

Paul Woods (43) with an address at The Bungalow, Ballyoonan, Omeath, was sent forward from the district court, having signed a guilty plea to a charge of assault causing harm.

The court heard the offending happened between May 31st and June 3rd 2024 and ended with the visibly injured victim calling to a neighbour's house for help shortly after 7pm.

She had cuts and bruising and was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital where she was treated for almost three weeks.

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The victim told gardaí the defendant had been taking cocaine all weekend and had slashed her with a knife on the thigh, stabbed her legs several times, removed a thumb nail with a pair of pliers, punched her while she was in the bath and poured boiling water over her left leg.

He also broke a broom handle he had used to assault her with. She said she thought he was going to kill her and had begged him to let her go.

During his interview Paul Woods, who claimed she had been unfaithful, told gardaí "Maybe I lost control and tortured her until she told me what I wanted to know".

In her victim impact statement, read to her court on her behalf, the woman said her life is irrevocably changed and she lives in a constant state of fear and anxiety.

Her hair is falling out, she doesn't sleep and when she does she's "haunted by nightmares".

She added she had to replace clothes, her passport and bank cards that were burned in a fire and said the impact on her life "is immeasurable".

The Defence barrister said he was instructed to apologise unreservedly to the injured party.

He said while not an excuse for what happened, the use of drugs explains what happened.

He added his client had been adopted at seven months old and struggled to cope when he found out about his adoption, aged 15.

The court heard Mr. Woods was very close to his father who he lost in March 2023 and struggled to cope with his passing.

It was also told he has no family or social relationships and received no phone calls or visits while on remand in custody.

He has a history of depression and has had addiction issues, having begun using cannabis in his teenage years and then binging on cocaine in his 20s and 30s.

The Probation report assessed the defendant as being at high risk of reoffending and stated that he was not considered a suitable candidate at this time for Probation supervision.

When Judge Dara Hayes noted the report said Mr. Woods "engaged to a degree in victim blaming", the Defence counsel acknowledged it was quite clearly critical in that regard but stressed his client does have an insight into his offending.

The judge said the defendant is someone who requires significant psychological assistance on his release from custody.

He imposed sentences totalling seven years and three months, with the final six months suspended for five years, subject to strict conditions including having no contact with the victim and that he engages with therapy, psychological intervention and anger management and emotional regulation programmes as directed by the Probation Service.

The sentences were backdated to June 5th last when the defendant went into custody.