Attack victim told drill, then felt her
A WOMAN was left with a circular hole in her skull after she was attacked with part of a drill during a suspected homophobic attack in the North, police have told a court.
Brenda McLaughlin (inset) told officers she believed she was targeted on Saturday because she is a lesbian. The attack is being treated as a hate crime. The alleged assailant, a 17-year-old boy, and the victim were both at Ruby’s nightclub in Strabane, Co Tyrone, early on Saturday morning.
There was no evidence a drill bit was in place when the power tool was later recovered or after police checked security camera footage, a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective told Omagh Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
The detective said: “It is my understanding that the victim has since told medical staff that she heard the noise of the drill and felt her head being twisted.”
She is currently being treated in a high-dependency unit at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.
The detective added: “There does appear to be some sort of hole in the skull but I cannot say how severe it is.”
The officer said no damage had been caused to her brain but there was some form of “circular” hole in her scalp.
“However, it does not appear to be deep,” he added.
The teenager was accused of having an offensive weapon, a power drill.
He is also alleged to have unlawfully and maliciously caused grievous bodily harm (GBH) to Ms McLaughlin or intended to do her GBH, and is further accused of stealing a power drill belonging to the nightclub.
A police patrol was alerted by members of the public that a woman was lying injured on the ground with blood coming from her head and lapsing in and out of consciousness.
She was also having fits and seizures.
District Judge Peter King said it was a “grossly violent,
inexplicably violent incident”.
The detective added: “The victim said she believed it was in relation to her homosexuality.”
The accused teen told police he had homosexual relatives and did not bear any ill-will, said his solicitor, Ciaran McGuinness.
The victim was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry where her condition was initially life-threatening, but it was later downgraded.
District Judge King said there was a risk to public protection and remanded the teenager in custody, to appear by video link at Strabane Magistrates’ Court on May 18.
The accused, wearing a tracksuit, appeared emotional while in court and hugged his mother in the public gallery after the hearing.