Judge condemns drug culture behind middle class engineer’s horrific attack on his girlfriend
A JUDGE issued a warning over the country’s recreational drug culture yesterday after jailing a high-flying young professional for a ferocious attack that nearly killed his girlfriend.
Design engineer Samuel Farley, 21, kicked and punched Esther Garrity 27 times when he became psychotic after taking LSD on a night out in Middlesbrough.
As the 19-year- old fashion student lay close to death, Farley was found nearby, yelling, ‘I am God,’ and ranting unintelligibly.
Miss Garrity’s father could not recognise her after the attack, and she has been left brain-damaged.
Judge Simon Bourne-Arton jailed Farley, from Middlesbrough, for 12 and a half years and said the case served as a graphic warning on drugs.
He told him: ‘This case effectively illustrates the dangers of drug-taking. This is, on any view, a tragic case, for it involves the fact that two young hitherto vibrant and talented young people have been blighted.
‘Blighted, of course, Samuel Farley, by your actions on that night, effectively blighted by the drugs you chose to take.
‘You would not have become involved in this horrendous attack were it not for the drugs you chose to take.
‘I am certain that you are otherwise a decent young man, a loving son and grandson, hard-working and with a wide circle of friends.’
Manchester Metropolitan University student Miss Garrity suffered severe brain damage, lost teeth, and a badly broken jaw, Teesside Crown Court heard, and spent 108 days in hospital after the attack in April. A paramedic who attended the scene said her injuries were the worst he had seen anyone survive.
Farley admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent as he was due to go on trial for attempted murder. The ‘highly paid’ design engineer working in the nuclear industry had taken cocaine, ketamine and LSD before the attack.
Sam Green QC, defending, said Farley was part of a culture that viewed the taking of recreational drugs in the same way the older generation regarded ordering a round of beer in the pub.
He said friends were astonished to hear what Farley had done and that his behaviour was ‘utterly out of character’.
Prosecuting, John Elvidge QC said Farley took LSD during a night out with friends on April 28, against Miss Garrity’s wishes. The court heard how he had a previous bad experience on the drug, which led a friend to urge him not to take it again.
A row developed as Farley and Miss Garrity walked home from a nightclub. Farley picked up a 7ft piece of wood from a ‘for sale’ sign, but did not hit her with it after she told him not to be ‘stupid’. Instead, he set about her with
‘He has ruined her life’
his hands and feet, with the blows becoming more frenzied.
Farley shouted, ‘I am God,’ as he struggled with police arresting him, and on the way to hospital he was ‘raving in an incomprehensible fashion’, Mr Elvidge said. He was sedated and the next morning, after asking ‘How’s my girlfriend’, he claimed he had been spiked with LSD, admitting only later he had taken it voluntarily.
Miss Garrity’s father Francis recalled the shock of seeing her so badly injured in hospital. He said: ‘They tried to clean her up but I couldn’t recognise the person lying there. Her head was three times the normal size, her injuries were horrific.’ Her mother, Victoria Hoban, 44, a former chef, said she collapsed when she saw her in intensive care for the first time.
She said: ‘He had a sense of entitlement and ownership over Esther and the drugs just brought that out of him. He has ruined her life and changed her from the bubbly, outgoing, confident girl that she was. Her university career came to an end and we have no way of knowing whether that can ever be resumed, but we can only hope.’
Detective Sergeant Ted Butcher, of Cleveland and North Yorkshire police, said: ‘This case is a prime example of the devastating consequences of taking drugs. The victim is still living with the life-changing injuries of this assault.’