Man appears in court accused of attempted murder of ex and imprisonment of her child

Tom Tuite

A man has been accused of the attempted murder of his former partner during a knife attack at her home in Dublin three months ago.

The accused, in his mid-30s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Cloverhill District Court on Tuesday.

The man, a foreign national who had an address in north Dublin, had been remanded in custody in May.

At that stage, he had been charged with causing serious harm to the woman, as well as production of a kitchen knife capable of inflicting serious injury, during an assault at her west Dublin home on a date in May.

He was also charged with breaching a protection order on the same day by "watching" the woman's residence and false imprisonment of her young child during the incident.

On Tuesday, however, following directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, the accused was further charged with attempted murder of the woman.

Garda Jennifer Greene told Judge Mitchell that the DPP directed that he face trial on indictment.

The court also heard that there was "extensive" CCTV evidence. The judge noted from the prosecution that the minor was related to the woman in the attempted murder and assault charges.

He imposed reporting restrictions to protect the child from being identified and remanded the accused in custody to appear again next week.

The accused sat at the side of the court for the hearing but did not address the judge. Defence solicitor David Bassett also submitted that the reporting restrictions were necessary because of the child.

The accused, who has yet to enter a plea, was remanded in custody while prosecutors are to prepare a book of evidence.

It must be completed and served on the defendant before the District Court can grant a return-for-trial order.

Under the Children Act, minors in criminal proceedings have a right to anonymity.