Man shot in head during argument ‘an accident’

AN INQUEST into the death of a man who was shot dead during an argument with his partner at their home in Cork has returned a verdict of misadventure.

Eva Walker, aged 37, told how her partner, Charlie Wrench, became violent towards her at the home they shared in Dromiscane, Millstreet, Co Cork, on the night of August 14, 2006.

She told coroner Dr Michael Kennedy that Mr Wrench started slapping her and pulling her around the kitchen. She asked for a phone to call her family so they could come and get her, and stated her partner responded to that request by trying to strangle her.

Ms Walker said she passed out and when she came to she went upstairs to a bedroom where Mr Wrench had loaded his shotgun. He turned the barrel towards himself and thrust the trigger side in her direction. Suddenly the shotgun went off.

“The next thing I remember was the bang. He stood there for a few seconds. The next thing he collapsed on the floor,” said Ms Walker.

There were three children playing outside the house at the time, including her 13-year-old daughter Leah. Ms Walker took the children from the scene and contacted neighbours.

Sergeant Paul O’Donovan said when he arrived at the scene, just before 10pm, blood was dripping through the bedroom ceiling and onto the ground floor. He said Ms Walker was in a very distressed state. She told the inquest in Mallow that Mr Wrench had never threatened her in such a violent manner before.

The inquest also heard from Mr Wrench’s former partner, Natalie Sharples. She said he could be violent with drink taken, otherwise he was a very peaceful person. She said when their relationship began to disintegrate he became violent.

Ms Sharples said on one occasion when they argued he had invited her to take the shotgun and shoot him.

She said she told him to go off and shoot himself and he went outside the house and discharged the shotgun. He didn’t, however, injure himself.

“He did it to frighten me,” said Ms Sharples.

She claimed Mr Wrench, who was born in Worcester, England, had openly told her he’d been abused as a child and she felt the incident with the shotgun was a kind of “a cry for help”.

Assistant state pathologist Margaret Bolster said Mr Wrench died due to very extensive laceration of the brain due to a shotgun wound.

The coroner said there was no intent on Ms Walker’s behalf to hurt her partner and he directed the jury to return a verdict of misadventure. The DPPhad decided to take no prosecution.

Dr Kennedy offered Ms Walker his condolences after the inquest was finished.