Man has part of ear bitten off in attack
SIMMERING ILL-FEELING BETWEEN PAIR ENDS IN VIOLENCE
SIMMERING animosity came to a head when usually-respectable warehouseman Patrick Murray bit off part of a grandad’s ear and broke a bone in his face with an iron bar.
There had been some ill-feeling brewing between Patrick Murray and his victim, both men having had relationships with the same woman at different times, a court heard.
When Murray spotted the other man walking through the West End of Newcastle, he turned his car around to confront him.
The 51-year-old then used a tyre iron to hit him, fracturing his eye socket, before sinking his teeth into his ear, tearing part of it off and leaving it lying on the ground.
The victim said in a statement read to Newcastle Crown Court: “I had to explain to my grandchildren why part of my ear was missing.
“This is all over Facebook, which I hate, it’s like my personal business being shown to everybody.”
Prosecutor Michael Bunch said the men had both been in relationships with the same woman at different times.
“That, it would appear, was a matter which had caused some animosity between the two,” he said.
On May 29 last year they encountered each other on Stanhope Street and it ended in violence.
The victim was carrying shopping bags when Murray spotted him.
Mr Bunch said: “The complainant, in his account of events, suggests the defendant, when he first spoke to him, said he had been looking for him for ages and got out of the vehicle with a wheel nut remover or tyre iron in his hand.
“In his defence statement, the defendant said he picked that up on the street, having got out of the vehicle.
“He would appear to accept he armed himself ahead of the confrontation becoming physical.
“The complainant describes the defendant lashing out with that weapon. They came together, it initially struck him to the arm which he put up to protect himself.
“Once they closed the gap between each other the defendant bit his ear.
“The complainant was eventually able to get the metal bar from the defendant.”
Police were informed of the attack and a severed part of ear was recovered from the road.
Murray, now of Claremont, Alloa, Scotland, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years with 100 hours of unpaid work, a three-month curfew between 8pm and 7am and must pay £2,000 compensation.
Recorder Tom Little QC told him: “You struck him and he sustained a fractured eye socket and you also sank your teeth into his ear, biting off part of it. This was a nasty and very significant piece of violence.”
Tony Cornberg, defending, said Murray has no previous convictions, is remorseful, and “is just not this sort of person”.
He added: “He suffered domestic violence at the hands of a former partner who the complainant also had a relationship with.
“Otherwise it might look like a classic situation of two men clashing heads over the love of a woman.
“He was hiding the abuse from his mother and family, lying about falling into things and someone else doing it. He has visible scars, for example, above his eye from when a chair was thrown at him.”
Mr Cornberg added: “The complainant said he had no idea who his attacker was. That’s clearly not right, he knew perfectly well who he was. There had been some previous encounters between the two men.”
Mr Cornberg claimed the victim had previously “goaded” Murray but said he knows he should not have done what he did.
He told the court: “On that day in question it was not a planned seeking out, he saw him, turned around, they had this exchange saying they wanted a word with each other.
“Mr Murray had a broken hand at the time and was wearing flip flops he was not looking for trouble.
“He is supported by a very strong family and has a permanent job working in a warehouse. There are references from a number of people, family and work references.”