A man had "snapped" and fractured his mentally ill wife's skull with a hammer, leaving her hospitalised for life and unable to speak, a court heard yesterday when a five-year suspended sentence was imposed.
Patrick J. Keogh (60) lost control after his wife threw a teapot and a milk bottle at him. She had been accusing him of not rearing their children properly, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.
He grabbed a "shaving hammer", used to fix model trains, and hit her across the head. She continued berating him and he hit her again until she fell silent. He then rang an ambulance. The ambulance crew contacted the gardai and Keogh admitted hitting his wife in a rage, Det Garda Kevin Fields said in evidence.
His wife, Anne Christine Keogh, was "profoundly disabled". She had been in care for a number of years, suffering from depression and paranoia. She had returned to the family after being released into "community care", but her husband and their children had difficulty in coping. The children were standing by their father, Det Garda Fields said.
Keogh, a carpenter, of Windmill Rise, Swords, pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife on May 12th, 1997, occasioning her grievous bodily harm.
Judge Cyril Kelly said it was a tragic case. Both the defendant and his children had described the victim as "unpredictable, volatile and violent". However, while he had to protect her and people like her, everyone involved in the case felt that a custodial sentence would exacerbate the difficult family situation and would not benefit the community.