Cork man terrified family after trying to hit himself with hatchet outside their home

A 25-year-old Cork man terrified his own family when he turned up outside their home and tried to hit himself in the head with a hatchet. Matters became even more frightening for them when he climbed over the back wall, banged on a window and started cutting his wrist.

The young man’s mother wiped tears from her eyes as she gave victim impact evidence at his sentencing hearing.

The defendant’s mother said at an in camera hearing of Cork District Court:

It has turned our lives upside down again. To see the son that I love in this situation again it is not the life I want for my son.

Sergeant Gearóid Davis outlined the background to the case and said the defendant attended at the family home after being told not to attend.

On February 27 he rang and said he was coming out to the house. He was told that if he did the guards would be called.

He then turned up at the door and he picked up a hatchet and tried to hit himself in the head with it. His family would not leave him because they were afraid of him with the hatchet.

He jumped over the back wall of the house and started banging on the back window. He crouched down and was cutting his own wrists.

Eddie Burke, defence solicitor, said, “This has been an ongoing saga for years. He has a very bad addiction.” Mr Burke said that to be fair to the defendant’s parents they had done their best to support their son but unfortunately, he has gone downhill again.

“He became homeless and fell back into addiction. He was living on the street. I hate saying it but he is doing better in prison. He is off drugs,” Mr Burke said.

Since he was remanded in custody at the end of last month he did ring home to apologise. His mother acknowledged that but said that she could not bring herself to visit him in prison.

Sgt Davis said that the defendant’s 15 previous convictions included two counts of breaching a barring order for which he was given first, a three-month sentence, and second, a four-month sentence.

For this third breach of the barring order, Judge Olann Kelleher sentenced him to six months in prison.

The judge said he accepted the defendant was contrite but he said nothing had changed since the two previous breaches.