A former prison officer has been sentenced to eight years in jail with two years suspended after he admitted battering his wife on the head with a baseball bat.
Paul Morris (50) told his wife, Teresa that he was going to kill her as he began hitting her around the head so hard with a junior baseball bat that he broke the bat before continuing to pummel her with his fists.
Morris, who has now resigned from the prison service, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing serious harm to Teresa Morris and to falsely imprisoning her at their home in Cork city on January 29th, 2010.
Ms Morris told the court last week that the assault, which happened as she was working in the kitchen of their home, had a hugely traumatic effect on her, leaving her scarred both physically and psychologically.
"For an attack of such a violent nature to take place in your home where you are meant to feel and be safe is horrific and robs you of all your sense of security. As a result of this attack, I now live a very fearful life," she said.
Ms Morris said it was mentally and physically exhausting to go through every day in a state of high alert. She was afraid to go to sleep at night because of another attack and when she does sleep, she wakes up in terror because the nightmares are so "horrific and vivid".
She said that suffered several fractures and has had a number of operations including skin grafts to date but is facing a further two operations to repair the damage done to her scalp and she continues to suffer pain and discomfort from her injuries.
The court heard that Morris gave up drinking in 2007 after developing an alcohol dependency. He became obsessed with what he perceived was his wife's drinking and they were going through a fractious period in their relationship when the attack happened.
Morris's defence counsel, Tom Creed SC said that on the morning in question, his client saw a cigarette lighter bearing the name of an off-licence and assumed that his wife had been to the premises and he began attacking her.
Gda Orla Kenneally said that Morris got a baseball bat from under the stairs and attacked his wife as she was pouring sour milk down the kitchen sink, hitting her three times on the head with the baseball bat before it broke.
He then began hitting his wife with his fists and the broken bat and he kicked her and he put up his hands to strangle her before stopping and going out and calling an ambulance, said Gda Kenneally.
Ms Morris managed to climb out a sitting room window and raise the alarm with a neighbour who at first who didn't recognise her and refused to open the door because she was so badly injured and bleeding so profusely.
Judge Patrick Moran said that was an appalling attack which had left his wife with horrific injuries. He said he was unsure whether Morris was remorseful or not.
He praised Ms Morris for her courage in giving evidence and relating her anxieties and fears in the wake of the attack.
He sentenced Morris to eight years in jail with the final two years suspended on condition he be of good behaviour.
Judge Moran also made it a condition of the suspension that Morris stay at least 500m away from where Ms Morris lives or works for a period of 10 years after his release. He ordered him to leave any location immediately if he encountered her during this period.