Man dodges jail for ‘stab threat’ voice messages

A FATHER OF THREE who left threatening voice messages for his former partner has received a four-month suspended sentence at the local district court.

The case, which was heard ‘in camera’ due to its domestic violence nature, involved threats made in October 2024, when the man left messages threatening to break windows in his ex-partner’s house and to stab her.

The court heard that the victim had been granted a barring order against the defendant, who has two previous convictions for breaches of domestic violence orders.

In her victim impact statement, delivered from the witness box, the woman said the incident had “affected her badly” and that she had to seek a protection order.

“He threatened to kill me, to stab me to death,” she told the court, adding that she felt “he would follow through with his threats”.

The victim, who was visibly emotional during her testimony, said the defendant is “capable of anything” when in “active addiction”, but added that “when he’s sober, he’s the best in the world”. She expressed a desire to see him receive help for his addiction issues.

The court was told that the defendant has a history of addiction problems and childhood trauma.

His defence solicitor told the court that “there are two (defendant’s name), (defendant’s name( in addiction and sober (defendant’s name)”, highlighting the stark difference in his client’s behaviour when under the influence versus when sober.

Judge John O’Leary convicted the defendant and sentenced him to four months imprisonment for the threatening voice messages, suspended for one year with a €300 bond and on condition that he does not breach the Domestic Violence Act during that period.