Offaly man who beat Cork widow has sentence adjourned

An Offaly man who beat a Cork widow and mother of six so violently it left blood splatters throughout his flat has had his sentence adjourned again by Judge Katherine Delahunt.

The victim, Ms Bernadette Barnes (aged 48), died 10 days later in hospital from a heart attack but it is accepted this was not related to the injuries she received in the assault.

Jean Champ (aged 51) first tried to tell gardaí that he was in custody at the time of the assault but this was found to be false.

Champ of St. Mary's Terrace, Dublin but originally from Tullamore, Co Offaly pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm and to attempting to intentionally or recklessly causing her serious harm at his home on January 19, 2006.

Judge Delahunt asked for submissions from the legal teams on an issue concerning sentencing prior to finalisation of the case next month.

Garda Sergeant Mark Waters told prosecuting counsel, Mr Cormac Quinn BL, that on that morning the building's caretaker saw the woman lying face down outside the flat, "covered in blood." She was naked except for a pair of bottoms.

Neighbour, Oisín Mc Shortall, told gardaí he heard shouting and screaming coming from the flat from about 2am to 6am.

When gardaí arrived Champ had taken Ms Barnes back inside and she was sitting on the couch with a broken nose, a black eye and severe cuts and bruises.

Champ's shoes and jeans were covered in blood and there were blood splatters throughout the flat including on the ceiling. Champ was very drunk and had swollen hands.

Champ told gardaí in interview he "boxed her" because she had a man in the flat while he was out and wouldn't tell him who it was. He claimed he only hit her once in the neck before she left the flat.

He claimed he didn't know anything about the screaming because he wasn't there. He falsely claimed he was in the garda station at the time.

Ms Barnes was admitted to hospital where he was treated for a brain haemorrhage and a broken hand as well as other cuts and bruises. She suffered a heart attack on January 21 resulting from serious heart disease and died a week later.

An examination of the flat concluded that there had been "one sustained assault or two separate ones." There were "airborne" blood stains on the ceiling, suggesting the blood had travelled through the air. There were also splatters in the hallway which someone had attempted to wipe off.

Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, defending said that in 1999, Champ was stabbed in the head with a corkscrew and since then has racked up 35 convictions, almost all for public order offence.

His brain was damaged as a result of the assault and he was later diagnosed as having a personality disorder which resulted in him having an inability to trust people, and being both resentful and arrogant.

Mr Quinn said Ms Barnes, originally from Knocknaheeny, Co Cork was the mother of six children. He said her husband had passed away 10 years ago and she was a heavy drinker.

Champ said he met the woman at a hostel and in November 2005 offered to let her stay in his Dublin Corporation flat.

Gda Sgt Waters described the flat as a "halfway house" where homeless people would gather and drink alcohol. He agreed with Mr O Higgins that it would not be unusual for there to be "strife and squabbling" there.

Mr O'Higgins said both Champ and the victim were heavy drinkers and had been homeless. He said he came from a very respectable and affluent family in Tullamore. His father owned two drapery stores in the town; he got a good leaving certificate and was captain of the school rugby team.

He moved to London but returned to Ireland in 1999 when he got his first conviction as a 42-year-old. He soon became homeless and an alcoholic.

He said in 2002, he received an inheritance of €60,000 from his mother, "but this was soon squandered." Shortly after he was granted a flat by Dublin Corporation.

Mr O'Higgins said that Ms Barnes had been living with Champ but he became annoyed that she was not contributing to the household. The situation became volatile and he asked her to leave. She did but returned which was when this incident occurred.