Man (23) accused of ‘sustained violent attack’ on girlfriend
AROUND ten gardaí were called to a house in Enniscorthy after the girlfriend of a 23-year-old man sustained distressing injuries.
Gorey District Court heard that Jamie Stedman had a kitchen knife as he locked himself in a bedroom at 23 Father Murphy Park, where he lived with his grandmother.
Among those in attendance at the scene was Garda Paul Quirke who stated that the defendant had violent tendencies.
Also present on the morning in question Inspector Mark Foley who took the unusual step of applying to have the defendant remain in handcuffs while his case was being dealt with by the court.
Stedman had threatened a sergeant while being put in his cell at the court complex in Gorey, the inspector explained. The application was granted.
As the accused sat in the body of the court with the cuffs on his wrists, Garda Quirke set out the case against him, telling the judge how Stedman and his girlfriend Lorraine Furlong were out for drinks at the house of his mother on December 9.
There was an altercation there, according to this version of events, and he left the house after assaulting his mother – though Noreen Stedman later denied this in court.
The couple went on to the grandmother’s house where Jamie Stedman allegedly punched Lorraine Furlong, kicking her around the head and limbs.
The court heard how the injured party was left with two black eyes, bruising all over her body, cuts inside her mouth and three loose teeth, while it was also suspected that her nose had been broken.
The garda reckoned what occurred was a sustained violent attack that continued until the victim got free and flagged down a passing car which took her to the barracks.
In court, Sergeant Paul McCarthy recalled that it was around 5.40 a.m. when he first arrived at 23 Father Murphy Park but no one answered and there was a similar lack of response at the home of Noreen Stedman.
The sergeant returned to the grandmother’s house where it was 7.15 a.m. before Jamie Stedman appeared at an upper window giving the callers verbal abuse.
The sergeant asked to speak to the grandmother, Frances Stedman, and she was produced at the window, though she appeared shell-shocked and her grandson was screaming behind her.
When he eventually came down to the door with the householder, he had what appeared to be a kitchen chopping knife, recalled McCarthy.
The old woman came out and was put in a patrol car but the court was told that the defendant continued very threatening and difficult to deal with.
He retreated to a bedroom with the knife and five gardaí were required to effect the eventual arrest, while five more were also present.
Laura Furlong attended court in a state of clear distress, accompanied by members of her family.
As the prosecution opposed the granting of bail, she was called into the witness box to state that she had been boxed in the face, kicked, and elbowed in the jaw.
She told the judge she feared for her life and that she was afraid of Stedman. The inspector concluded that she was petrified. The assault accused man sought bail and grandmother Frances Stedman stated that she was not afraid of the defendant and that she could manage him.
She gave evidence that he had lived with her for all his life and she wanted him home in Father Murphy Park.
The court also heard from Noreen Stedman who said she would be there to support her mother if her son was allowed bail.
However, Judge Gerard Haughton responded that the allegations of assault were serious and that it was clear Ms Furlong was terrified of Stedman.
He observed that most murders in this country occur in domestic settings and felt that the level of violence in this case was quite extreme.
He was not confident that mother and grandmother could exercise any control over the defendant, so he refused bail.
‘I will look after him,’ was the response of a tearful Frances Stedman but the judge was not open to changing his mind: ‘He’s not getting bail,’ he told her.
The defendant was remanded in custody to the court sitting of December 21.