Derry man jailed for breaching restraining order against his former partner
Paul Michael Murray (40) of St. Canice's Park in Derry with a number of domestic offences
A man has been jailed at Derry Magistrate's Court charged with a number of domestic offences, including multiple breaches of a restraining order.
Paul Michael Murray (40) of St. Canice's Park in Derry was charged with breaching a restraining order against his former partner on August 3 2023 after initially being told to leave a venue that she was also attending.
Murray claimed that the injured party was the one who had arranged to meet up with him in spite of a restraining order that is in place until next year.
Police were later called on December 11 2023 by a third party following a domestic incident.
The injured party said that Murray had come to her home and verbally abused her.
He was said to have told her to 'kill herself' and threw her phone to the ground before smearing blood on the door and walls before a parent arrived to take him away.
On December 14 2023 the injured party received phone calls from Murray, who later phoned his oldest son and asked to speak to his mother.
The most recent offences occurred on October 12 last year, when the injured party received phone calls from Murray relating to her new partner.
She suspected that Murray had hacked her Facebook account after noticing she had been logged in on a number of different devices that she did not recognize and was worried that Murray was stalking her.
When he was arrested, police found a number of tables on his person.
Defence barrister Michael Donaghey said that the case has a 'very unpleasant set of facts' but added that there was a 'complex background'.
He said that Murray and the injured party both suffered from mental health issues but Murray was in the process of getting his life back on track.
District Judge Ted Magill said that the court took 'an extremely dim view' of the offences and that 'this sort of abuse is a plague in our society'.
He sentenced him to six months in custody.