A homeless Waterford man whose suicide attempt in a gas explosion caused €126,000 worth of damage to a vacant house in which he was squatting has been given a four-year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Martin Stokes was blown through the window of the house to the bottom of the back garden by the force of the gas explosion he caused after he had decided to end his life on February 25th, 2005.
Det Garda Nigel Mulleady agreed with defence counsel James Ridge, that Stokes told gardaí it had been a suicide attempt and had added: "I couldn't even do that right."
Stokes (54), Maple House, North Circular Road, Phibsboro, Dublin, pleaded guilty to intentionally or recklessly damaging the house at Oakdown Road, Churchtown.
Judge Frank O'Donnell noted that a psychiatric report on Stokes said he was suffering from depression and was a "genuine type of man who was very ashamed of what he did".
Det Garda Mulleady told Roughan Banim, prosecuting, that the house was vacant for renovation and Stokes had been taking shelter in a garden shed for two days after he was put out of a house he shared with his girlfriend.
Det Garda Mulleady said one of the house windows was broken and on a particularly cold night Stokes climbed in through it and fell asleep in the house. He decided to end his life the following morning and turned on the gas and broke the pipe to allow the gas to leak for several hours. He then lit a cigarette lighter and was blown through a window down to the bottom of the back garden.
When the fire brigade arrived they found Stokes in a dazed state in the back garden with the house on fire and substantially damaged from the explosion. He was taken to St James's Hospital where he was interviewed by gardaí.
Mr Ridge said Stokes received severe injuries to his hands in the blast, leaving significant scarring. He said Stokes had previously worked in the security and bar business but had begun drinking heavily and had been put out of their house by his girlfriend.