Woman jailed for three and a half years for throwing neighbour (70) down stairs

Denise Curran (40), with an address at 5 Hillside, Finea, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, appeared last Friday afternoon before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Longford Circuit Court, where she was sentenced for the section three assault of her neighbour by throwing her down the stairs.

Earlier this week, Garda Sabrina Scally told the court that, on the evening of November 12, 2023, gardaí received a report from Ms Curran herself, who said the injured party, an upstairs neighbour, had come to her door wielding a knife.

Ms Curran also expressed concern for her upstairs neighbour’s well being after a fall down the stairs, and followed her initial 999 call with a second call.

Upon arrival, gardaí spoke with Ms Curran and observed that she was intoxicated. The hallway was dark and gardaí had to use the torch from a phone to light their way upstairs. They observed a lot of blood in the hallway and on the stairs leading up to the apartment of the injured party.

When they knocked on the door, however, the injured party did not respond and the door had to be broken open. When gardaí gained entry to the apartment, there was blood all over the floor and the injured party was found in her bed with a deep gash on the back of her head.

CCTV footage played in court showed the woman walking downstairs. As she walked back up, she turned around and appeared to be conversing with someone further down the stairs, before disappearing down again.

Once again, she returned upstairs and was followed by Ms Curran, who was then seen grabbing the woman under the arm before pushing her down the stairs and following on foot. Soon afterwards, the woman was seen slowly ascending the stairs and stumbling slightly. A large gash is visible on the back of her head in the footage.

The injuries suffered by the woman included extensive bruising to her hand and wrist, as well as the right hip and buttock, and a wound to the back of her head, which required stitches. She was taken by ambulance to Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar, where she was treated for her injuries.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, the injured party outlined how she was afraid to walk past Ms Curran’s door, which was at the bottom of the stairs. This isolated her in her own apartment and she was reluctant to socialise.

When she was initially questioned by gardaí, Ms Curran denied any wrongdoing and made an initial report that the injured party had a knife. However, she later conceded that this was a lie.

“I don’t even remember it,” she told gardaí. “I was concerned or I wouldn’t have rang the gardaí. I’m not proud of it. It wasn’t my intention.

“I don’t know why I done it. I had drink on me [sic]. If she hadn’t come to my door, I wouldn’t have done it. I didn’t set up my day to do this. I was off the drink and I said f*ck it and decided to have a few drinks.”

Ms Curran came before the court with a total of 69 previous convictions. Among those were 12 for public order, 12 for theft-related offences, 34 for road traffic matters, including several for no insurance and driving while disqualified, two for criminal damage, three marked “other”, and six convictions for assault.

She was most recently sentenced to four years in prison for careless driving causing serious harm. That sentence, which was handed down in January of 2023, was fully suspended for five years by Judge Keenan Johnson.

However, following a breach of the conditions of her suspended sentence, 15 months of the sentence were activated in July 2023 and Ms Curran served just 21 days before she was released.

“Ms Curran’s record is absolutely appalling. It’s a truly horrifying record that she should be thoroughly ashamed of,” said Judge Connolly.

“She has 69 previous convictions and a reactivated sentence for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm. She got a very fair bounce of the ball from Judge Johnson when he gave her the benefit of, essentially, a fully suspended sentence.

“She couldn’t comply with that and was again before the court on a triggering road traffic offence. It is very disappointing for me, activating 15 months of her sentence, to hear that she only spent 21 days in prison,” Judge Connolly added, though he accepted that Ms Curran was in custody for four months prior to her sentencing.

Aggravating factors in the case include the “extremely callous and sinister nature of the crime”, as well as the age and vulnerability of the victim, who is 70 years old and living alone with “somewhat limited physical mobility”.

Judge Connolly also considered the serious nature of the injuries inflicted on the older woman and the effect that the assault has had on her confidence and her ability to go about her life.

He also noted her “truly horrendous criminal record” dating back to 2002, as well as the effects of alcohol consumption on that record.

A psychiatric report confirmed that Ms Curran is still drinking alcohol, but trying to limit her consumption because she works early shifts. Judge Connolly, however, did not accept that and stated that the accused should be more worried about limiting her consumption to reduce her recidivistic behaviour, rather than worrying about being late for work.

“I’m satisfied in this case that the criminal culpability is much worse than the injuries suffered. This was a horrible, hateful crime carried out in the most callous circumstances I have seen to date,” said Judge Connolly.

He fixed a headline sentence of six years in prison, stating that this was a “truly, truly horrible assault that will be properly punished”.

Mitigating factors included a plea of guilt, expressions of remorse, an apology to the victim, as well as the fact that she is attempting to rehabilitate herself.

There was no weapon used, Judge Connolly noted, however the CCTV footage was “truly appalling” and the act of throwing the victim down the stairs was “as bad as if a weapon was used”.

The consumption of alcohol, he said, is “never an excuse”, but it provides some context to the offending. He also noted that a sum of €1,150 was furnished to the court as a token of compensation by Ms Curran, which he said was “a particularly limited sum for an offence committed in November 2023.”

“I am imposing a custodial sentence, but I’m also directing that the money be handed over to the injured party,” he said, acknowledging that he rarely directs money to be handed over when a custodial sentence is imposed.

Taking all mitigating factors into account, he reduced the headline sentence to four years and six months. He then proceeded to suspend the final 12 months of the sentence for a period of 12 months on a number of conditions, including that she abstain from the consumption of alcohol.

(SUNDAY WORLD)