Teenager struck Scarlett Faulkner 11 times with iron bar as she lay by road, court hears

Scarlett Faulkner was found by gardaí with critical head injuries at the side of the R494 road, just outside the village of Birdhill, Co Tipperary last Saturday, March 21.

A 16-year old girl struck Limerick woman Scarlett Faulkner eleven times on her head with an iron bar, a special weekend court sitting heard on Saturday night.

The girl allegedly laughed when gardaí later showed her a photograph of Ms Faulkner seriously injured following the attack, investigating officers told Limerick District Court.

Ms Faulkner, aged in her late 20s and a member of a Traveller family from Longpavement in Limerick, was found by gardaí with critical head injuries at the side of the R494 road, just outside the village of Birdhill, Co Tipperary last Saturday, March 21.

A 16-year old girl arrested in connection with the attack last Thursday appeared before the Court charged with one count of assault causing serious harm to Ms Faulkner.

A 40-year-old woman also appeared before the court charged with four offences arising out of the alleged assault on Ms Faulkner, including violent disorder, reckless endangerment and burglary.

Judge Carol Anne Coolican ordered reporting restrictions in respect of both accused, meaning they cannot be identified.

Gardai told the court that officers attached to the East Clare and north Tipperary Divisions responded to a report of a violent assault near Birdhill on the afternoon in question.

They said that Ms Faulkner was airlifted from the scene to University Hospital Limerick and later transferred to Cork University Hospital where she remains in a “critical condition” with ‘life threatening injuries”.

Gardai told contested bail hearings for each of the two accused females that, prior to the attack on Ms Faulkner, the adult accused burgled and smashed up a caravan and that the accused girl videoed the attack on the caravan.

The gardaí alleged that the adult accused had been searching for Ms Faulkner for 24 hours prior to the attack.

They alleged that in the lead up to the assault the accused woman drove a Volkswagen Touran car, carrying the accused girl and others as passengers, overtaking a number of vehicles near Birdhill as she pursued Ms Faulkner and a male who were travelling in a van.

Gardai alleged the accused woman pursued the van for a number of miles and that she eventually rammed the van carrying Ms Faulkner and the male on the R494 road forcing it to stop.

The investigating officers told the court that dash cam footage and CCTV footage from cars and security cameras supported that evidence.

The officers said that, following the ramming, Ms Faulkner was seen fleeing from the van and running along the R494 towards a roundabout outside Birdhill before she was allegedly attacked by the accused girl.

Gardai said the girl can be seen on video footage alighting from the accused woman’s car with a weapon in her hand and running after Ms Faulkner.

They claimed the accused girl caught up to Ms Faulkner and struck her at least 11 times on her head while Ms Faulkner lay by the roadside.

“Each injury is sustained to the head. Eleven blows to the head can be observed on CCTV,” a Garda told the court.

The garda described the alleged attack by the girl on Ms Faulkner as “callous”.

They said the girl showed a “complete lack of empathy” by laughing when gardaí later showed her a still image of Ms Faulkner at the scene.

The court heard that gardaí believe another young person at the scene recorded the assault on Ms Faulkner on a mobile phone.

It’s alleged that following the assault the accused girl threw the iron bar at the man who had been travelling with Ms Faulkner.

Neither of the accused made any reply to the charges, the court heard.

Security was tight at the night-time court sitting and entry to the courthouse was restricted.

There was a heavy presence of both uniformed and plainclothes gardaí present inside the court for the hearings.

Two solicitors for each of the accused said their clients would abide by any bail conditions.

Objecting to bail, gardaí said they believed that if granted each accused would commit serious offences and not abide by any bail conditions.

Judge Coolican said she was satisfied to refuse bail for both accused.

The judge said that both were before the court with a “presumption of innocence”.

She remanded the girl to a youth detention facility, and the woman to a remand prison, to appear via video-link before Tipperary District Court, sitting in Thurles, on April 1.