Woman says she is lucky to be alive after gardaí find ex-partner strangling her in bed

A woman has told a court she is lucky to be alive after gardaí found her ex-partner strangling her in bed over a year ago.

Karen Galvin said had gardaí not arrived at her Co Longford home when they did, she would not be there to recall the incident in September 2019 .

“If I hadn’t that gut feeling to leave the front door ajar for the guards I know I wouldn’t be here today,” Ms Galvin told a sitting of Longford Circuit Criminal Court. “I’d be dead, plain and simple.”

The mother of three she was left with everyday emotional and psychological scars after being pinned to a bed and choked by her then partner Brendan Kelleher (33), Drumlish Hill, Drumlish, Co Longford.

Ms Galvin, who is now in a new relationship and recently given birth to twins, said the trauma of what happened had left her with a deep hatred of the accused. “It’s not normal that I break into a sweat still coming into Longford,” she told Mr Kelleher. “Even the thought of it makes me physically sick and I despise you for that.”

The court heard how gardaí had called to a domestic violence incident at Battery Road, Longford on September 9th, 2019.

Garda Shane O’Connor said on arrival and after finding the front door slightly ajar, the accused was observed lying on top of the victim with one hand gripped around Ms Galvin’s neck and the other covering her mouth.

He said after pulling Mr Kelleher off Ms Galvin, the woman was in an “extremely distressed state”, unable to communicate with fingerprint marks clearly visible around both her neck and face.

The court was told Mr Kelleher, who was later charged with a Section 3 assault on Ms Galvin, had previously been convicted of breaching a barring order against Ms Galvin in February 2015.

Mr Kelleher expressed remorse and alluded to his own attempts to rehabilitate himself by undergoing alcohol addiction treatment . “I am truly sorry,” he saud. “It should never have happened, especially to the mother of my child. I am ashamed to sit here and say I done that.”

Judge Johnson adjourned sentencing until October 5th for the preparation of a probation report. If deemed positive, the court was told a two and a half year sentence would be handed down and suspended for 10 years provided Mr Kelleher adhered to a number of strict conditions. They included to have no contact with Ms Galvin, to remain alcohol free and to commence an anger management programme .

A “tokenistic” €2,000 was handed into court by means of compensation to Ms Galvin with Mr Kelleher ordered to gather a further €5,000 when the case returns in October. “The keys to prison are in your hands,” Judge Johnson told Mr Kelleher.