Limerick woman 'boxed' by ex husband drops court case

A WOMAN withdrew a criminal complaint against her ex-husband minutes after telling a judge that he had punched her several times across the head during an incident in the city centre last Christmas.

The mother-of-four was giving evidence during a prosecution against the man relating to the alleged breach of a Safety Order.

In her evidence the woman said she was shopping in the city centre at around 6pm on December 14 last when she encountered her ex husband’s girlfriend in a store in the city centre.

She said when she left the store a short time later, the defendant emerged from a laneway across the street and immediately began attacking her.

“He ran out the alleyway and he started attacking me,” she told Inspector Liz Kennedy.

“He started hitting me and boxing me into the head with his hands. He hit me four or five times,” she added.

When asked how she felt at the time of the incident, the woman said she felt terrible before asking if she could address the judge directly.

The woman then said her children and other members of her family were “not too happy about me pressing charges” and that she wished to drop the case against her ex husband “for the sake of my children”.

Following the woman’s evidence, Insp Kennedy said the State was withdrawing the charge against the 40-year-old defendant.