Man (63) accused of assaulting sister during will dispute has charge dismissed
A 63-year-old man who was accused of assaulting his sister during a heated exchange about their mother’s will has seen the charge against him dismissed, after CCTV footage contradicted key parts of the complainant’s account.
Michael Donnelly, of Woodley Park, Kilmacud, Dublin 14, had pleaded not guilty at Dún Laoghaire District Court to a Section 2 assault on his sister at Woodley Park on 24 June, 2024.
The court heard that the complainant and another sibling arrived at their late mother’s house, where the defendant was living, stating they were executors of her will and seeking access to the property.
The court also heard that earlier documents said to reflect the mother’s wishes in relation to the property had not been located.
Mobile phone and doorbell footage played during the court hearing showed the complainant and another sibling at the doorway filming the defendant during a heated exchange.
Judge Anne Watkin noted that the footage showed the complainant “talking over” the defendant before the phone was struck from her left hand.
The woman told the court that the defendant had “walloped” her wrist and knocked the phone from her hand.
She said her right wrist was extremely sore afterwards and that she had difficulty squeezing her fingers and moving her hand. She accepted there was no bruising and described the injury as soft tissue damage.
However, the court was told the footage showed the phone was in her left hand at the time it was struck away.
Defence counsel, Silvia-Maria Crowley BL, drew the court’s attention to that inconsistency, noting that throughout her statement and evidence the complainant had repeatedly referred to her right hand being struck.
Counsel also pointed to differences between what the complainant told her doctor and what she told the court about when the pain began and the nature of the injury.
Judge Watkin further noted that a medical report prepared at the time referred to the complainant’s right hand.
During cross-examination, the complainant accepted there was no bruising and agreed she had not specified in her original statement that her wrist had been struck.
Ms Crowley submitted that for an offence under Section 2, force must be applied to a person, directly or indirectly, and suggested the defendant had acted in a manner to protect himself during the exchange at the doorway.
Judge Watkin said she could not accept the complainant’s evidence as credible, referring to the inconsistency between the medical report and the footage, as well as the changing description of the alleged injury.
She accepted the credibility concerns raised by the defence. While Judge Watkin said knocking a phone from someone’s hand could, in certain circumstances, amount to an assault, she was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that an assault had been proven. The charge was dismissed.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
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