Woman gets suspended sentence in manslaughter case
A prison sentence was suspended today in the case against a woman who killed her partner by knocking him to the ground and stamping on his head after a day of drinking with him on the street.
Judge Patrick J. Moran said it was an extremely serious case but one which was an exception to the normal equation made in the public mind that manslaughter equals a custodial sentence.
“What I propose doing is imposing a six-year prison sentence which I will suspend for a period of three years,” he said.
The defendant must remain under the Probation and Welfare service for three years particularly in
relation to the ongoing treatment of her alcohol problem.
Mary O'Driscoll, 53, who lives at the Simon Community in Cork admitted the unlawful killing of her common law husband of 15 years, Walter Black, at Academy Street, Cork, on the afternoon of June 25, 2002.
“Since this incident you made considerable efforts to correct your way of life,” the judge said.
Inspector Michael Fitzpatrick confirmed yesterday, “She is doing very well for herself, she is off the drink and she is looking much better.”
Judge Moran cited probation officer’s opinion that this incident was a very tragic end to a very unfortunate relationship that involved reciprocal violence that could easily have resulted in the defendant’s own death.
Sergeant Sean Leahy previously described the background to the case.
"They left the Simon Community at Anderson's Quay at 12pm and they got two or three bottles of wine and continued on to Faulkner's Lane where they drank until 4.20pm.
"A security guard spotted Mary O'Driscoll smashing a bottle over Walter Black's head. They went on to Academy Street. They were both extremely drunk. They walked up Academy Street. She took off her pair of white runners and threw them into the middle of the road.
"She caught him by the shoulders and hit him against a blue door of the Irish Examiner office. She pulled him from behind and swung him around. He fell, hitting his head against a concrete bin.
"She stamped on Walter Black's head four or five times with her bare foot. A number of witnesses saw this," Sergeant Leahy said.
Mr Black was taken to hospital and he died on July 1 2002 as a result of his head injuries.
