Irishwoman stabbed her fiance in the neck because he was degrading & violent
Ptsd sufferer pleads guilty to manslaughter following fight
A NEWLY-ENGAGED Irishwoman stabbed her fiance to death in Australia after he’d been “degrading and violent” towards her, a Sydney court heard yesterday.
Cathrina “Tina” Cahill pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of David “Motcha” Walsh in February 2017 after a night out that ended in a fatal fight.
The accused, from New Ross, Co Wexford, killed Mr Walsh just five weeks after they got engaged.
The court heard she was suffering from PTSD at the time.
It’s believed she used a broken bottle or glass to inflict the fatal wound.
The 27-year-old was due to face a murder charge but pleaded guilty on the basis of substantial impairment, to manslaughter.
New South Wales Supreme Court was told of the “degrading and violent” behaviour of the dad of four towards Cahill in the weeks before he died.
Mr Walsh, 29, originally from Moran Park, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, died from a neck wound sustained at their home in Padstow, Sydney.
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Paramedics found the construction worker bleeding severely from his neck and mouth.
Medics tried to revive him but he died at the scene.
The pair had earlier been out at the Cock ‘N’ Bull Hotel and the Doncaster Hotel in Sydney.
Earlier reports told how Cahill and other women had brought a man they met in the pub home, but Mr Walsh attacked him – it is after this incident he was stabbed to death.
Dressed in a navy suit and white blouse, Cahill was supported in court by her parents Daniel and Rita who travelled from Ireland to attend the hearing.
Her barrister James Trevallion said the court should be aware of “the extent of the provocation and controlling behaviour by the deceased” towards the accused in the weeks and days before he died.
He added: “Substantial impairment was caused by the behaviour of the deceased.
“Evidence shows how degrading and psychologically damaging and violent that behaviour was.”
Justice Peter Johnson said Cahill had a “stormy” relationship with her fiance. He added: “Then they decided to get married not long before this event with the psychological consequences these things had on her.”
Prosecutor Nanette Williams said the Crown accepted the plea to the less serious offence of manslaughter on the basis Cahill was suffering from PTSD at the time.
Justice Johnson said he was ready to proceed with sentencing at the earliest possible opportunity. The prosecution said it would need some extra time to prepare victim impact statements from Mr Walsh’s family in Ireland.
Prosecutor Nanette Williams added Mr Walsh had four children and several brothers who should be given the opportunity to give victim impact statements if they so wished. She told the court she had spoken to the mother of three of Mr Walsh’s children, aged 13, 12 and nine, and offered them the opportunity to provide victim impact statements.
Ms Williams added Mr Walsh also has another child who is “much younger” and she is “trying to contact the mother”.
Speaking after the hearing, Cahill’s lawyer James Trevallion said his client was “doing OK”. He added her parents had a chance to speak with their daughter in court.
A representative of Mr family was also present.
The couple’s two housemates in Sydney at time of the killing, now back in Ireland, could give evidence about the nature of the relationship. Mr Walsh’s