Teen gets 11 years after burning man 'to the bone'
A teenager who set fire to his drinking companion and burned him "to the bone" has been sentenced to 11 years by Judge Frank O’Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Blaine O’Mahony (aged 19) of Swan Grove, Rathmines, Dublin, also kicked another man unconscious and assaulted a third.
Judge O’Donnell noted that one of O’Mahony’s acquaintances described him as a "walking chargesheet" and refused to hang about with him because he always attracted trouble.
He suspended the last year of the term and said that, without a drastic and radical change O’Mahony would continue to be a "serious threat to society".
O’Mahony pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Mr Richard Hand at a flat on Lower Rathmines Road on August 1, 2003, and assault causing harm to Mr Damian Murphy at Leinster Cricket Club, Rathmines, on June 19, 2003.
He also pleaded guilty to robbery of Mr Anthony Hicks at Camden Place, Dublin 2, on August 1, 2004.
Detective Garda Thomas Gormley earlier told Mr Vincent Heneghan BL, prosecuting, that O’Mahony and Mr Hand were drinking together in a friend’s apartment.
O’Mahony, who had earlier had his eyebrows shaved off in an unrelated incident, received some "slagging" over his appearance.
Mr Hand went into the back garden to urinate, followed by O’Mahony. Mr Hand told gardaí he felt wetness on the back of his legs which then went up in flames.
He said O’Mahony laughed, went back into the flat and closed the door but opened it again and threw paint over Mr Hand, which further burned him and caused him to scream even more. O’Mahony laughed and again closed the door.
Mr Hand’s lower body was "engulfed in flames" and he was screaming for help. He was unable to remove his boots which were made of particularly flammable material. He began to panic and roll around on the ground.
Det Gda Gormley agreed with Mr Heneghan that the victim thought his "manhood might be destroyed".
A neighbour called gardaí and an ambulance when he heard Mr Hand screaming: "Help me, help me, Jesus Christ help me". The witness saw O’Mahony looking on and laughing.
Det Gda Gormley said Mr Hand suffered severe "full thickness" burns to both legs and had undergone nine operations. Bones on his legs were exposed and would suffer "chronic infection".
His mobility will be reduced and he will undergo further surgery for "many years to come".
Garda Brian Sheeran told Ms Martina Baxter BL, prosecuting, that O’Mahony was one of two men who robbed Mr Hicks, an elderly man, at Camden Place on August 1, 2004.
Mr Hicks was admitted to intensive care and spent three weeks in St James’ Hospital following the "very vicious assault" in which he was punched and kicked unconscious.
Gda Sheeran said that CCTV footage captured O’Mahony as he grabbed the victim by the throat and assaulted him repeatedly. O’Mahony stamped on Mr Hicks’ face three times.
Gda Sheeran agreed with Ms Caroline Biggs BL, defending, that her client was "out of his head on drugs" and genuinely could not remember the incident. He told gardaí: "If I did it, I’m sorry".
Garda Paul O’Hara told Ms Baxter that in June 2003 O’Mahony met Mr Murphy late at night in Rathmines and went to drink with him at the Cricket Grounds.
Both men were extremely drunk when O’Mahony punched Mr Murphy in the head and kicked him in the legs. Mr Murphy suffered cuts and bruising and was on crutches for several days.
