A man accused of attempting to murder his partner in her Magheralin home, which he moved into just a week ago, said “he didn’t intend to kill her,” a court has heard.
Matthew Carson, 29, with an address at Broomhill, Magheralin, appeared before a special sitting of Lisburn Magistrates’ Court charged with attempted murder, non-fatal strangulation, and a domestic abuse offence.
The first two charges relate to an incident on Friday night (March 14) when, just before midnight, police received a 999 call from a third party stating that her neighbour had arrived at her door “bleeding copiously.”
The victim came onto the phone to tell police that her boyfriend had attacked her and that he was still next door.
When police arrived at the scene, Carson was sitting in a car on the driveway of the property. Police checked on the alleged victim, who was crying and had clearly suffered “significant injuries.”
She told police that she couldn’t see out of her eyes.
The public prosecutor told the court that the alleged victim and the defendant had been having a few drinks at home, that she had been on a call with her father, and when that call ended, Carson started shouting at her.
The prosecutor told the court that the defendant “grabbed her and started punching her in the face, choked her with both hands behind her neck, and during the course of that attack, he stated that he was going to kill her,” leaving the complainant feeling “terrified.”
The complainant told police that the last thing she could remember was “the defendant choking her and she believed she lost consciousness.”
As a result of her injuries, she was taken to Daisy Hill Hospital.
Carson made no reply when cautioned but asked about the alleged victim’s welfare numerous times on the way to custody, stating: “I’ve f****d up badly, haven’t I?”
He was so drunk that he had to be taken out of the car and taken to hospital, where he was also examined.
The complainant said that she had met Carson online and they met in person approximately six months ago, where he would travel from his home in Strabane to see her at the weekends.
About a week ago, he got a job in Magheralin and moved in with the alleged victim, who has two children, aged eight and five, but they were with their father on Friday night.
The complainant stated that, prior to Friday night, Carson had never assaulted her before, but that he had been verbally aggressive.
The prosecutor stated: “He’s very possessive when he comes to visit, he always checks her phone, accuses her of cheating, and has been controlling.”
A doctor who examined the alleged victim said he was unable to tell if her loss of consciousness was a result of the strangulation or a strike to her head.
Carson, the court heard, has a previous serious assault conviction.
“He has a problem when he is drunk,” remarked the prosecutor, and “he accepted he had 10-12 beers and a small bottle of whiskey,” further stating that “he was upset because she had booked a holiday.”
The prosecutor added that while in the presence of police, Carson remarked: “I f****d up. I put my hands on her. I’d been drinking and I’d had very little to eat.”
He further stated that “he was upset because she booked a holiday, that he’d obviously been looking at her phone, and he said he had paranoia.”
“He said he didn’t intend to kill her, and when police showed him the photographs [of the woman’s injuries], to be fair, he was genuinely shocked.”
His reply to caution was, “I didn’t try to murder her.”
Defence counsel Stephen Mooney added: “The court has also heard that he’s made some unsolicited quasi-admissions whilst drunk in the back of a police car, pre-caution, and he does appear to have made some partial, significant admissions during the course of his formal interview under caution.
“He did express a degree of remorse and was genuinely shocked when presented with the evidence and, in my respectful submission, those are firm indicators of an individual who is unlikely to pervert the course of justice.”
“If the court pleases, he has an address which is more than 50 miles away from the residence of the victim. In this case, he can proffer an address in Strabane with his mother.”
However, District Judge Amanda Brady described the allegations as “very serious” and referenced his criminal record in that “he has used violence in the past.”
“They are allegations, at this stage, of using very significant violence towards his partner…and I think if released on bail, there is a risk that he may reoffend…she has not yet made a formal statement of complaint, and she’s due to do that today, and I think to release him before that has taken place would be premature.”
The case was adjourned until Friday, April 11, at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court.
