Knife-wielding Westmeath man (23) told ex-girlfriend to ‘pick a finger or toe’ during ‘horrific’ assault

A court has heard how a “couch-surfing” man held a knife to a woman’s face before telling her to “pick a toe or finger” during a violent assault in the midlands.

Twenty-three-year-old Ben Curry, Fossagh, Mount Temple, Moate, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty to assault and threatening to kill his female victim at 18 Gate Lodge Apartments, Willow Park, Athlone, Co Westmeath on January 1, 2023.

Curry, who has been in custody for the past nine months, appeared in court where details in connection to a separate assault on a second female the accused had been in a short-term relationship with was also heard.

Prosecuting counsel John Hayden BL, said the accused had met his victim a number of weeks prior to the incident unfolding in an apartment she had been residing in as a student.

He said on the day of the incident, the victim was in the shower when Curry began looking through her phone where he found text messages which the young woman had sent to an ex-boyfriend.

Garda Dylan Dunleavy said the episode “enraged” Curry, who immediately summoned the woman from the shower.

The court was told as the argument between the pair escalated, Curry punched two holes in a wall before slapping his victim and placing his hand around her neck, causing her to believe she was going to pass out.

Curry, who was on bail at the time, continued to punch the young woman on the upper thigh seconds before kicking her in the chest, causing her to fall between two chairs.

Mr Hayden, in reading excerpts from the victim’s statement, told of how Curry momentarily left the room only to return armed with two knives.

“She was standing up in her room and he walked towards her sharpening the knives when he said ‘pick a toe or finger’,” said Mr Hayden.

“At that point she was screaming and crying, at which point he turned her to the wardrobe and put one side of the knife against her face and said to her: ‘I should cut your finger off so you stop texting boys.’”

She later managed to flee the apartment on the pretext of going to a local shop, the court heard.

In the second assault incident on May 22 2023, Judge Keenan Johnson was told how Curry attacked a woman he had been in a fleeting relationship with at the rear of Athlone Town Shopping Centre.

The court heard details of the woman’s attempts to end the relationship over snapchat, efforts that resulted in her meeting Curry at the shopping precinct.

Mr Hayden said upon learning of the woman’s wishes, Curry became aggressive as the pair made their way out of the shopping centre and towards an apartment complex.

CCTV footage of the incident was shown to the court during which it was revealed Curry headbutted his female victim while also launching a volley of punches and knees to the head.

During the course of the exchange, the victim’s iPhone 13 worth €900 fell from her pocket which the court was told Curry took with him moments later.

In a victim impact statement read out on her behalf, the young woman said she continued to live in “constant fear” following the attack and harboured thoughts Curry might target her again if released from custody.

“Personally after the attack I felt helpless and scared,” she said.

“The constant replay of the traumatic incident is always at the back of my mind. The assault has destroyed my feeling of safety, leaving me with a constant mistrust of people.”

In defence, Dara Foynes SC, described the actions of her client as “shocking” and ones that had left him overcome with remorse.

“It’s quite clear his anger is something he simply can’t control,” she said, adding how Curry had endured an “utterly wretched life” after going into State care at the age of four.

“He is genuinely sorry for what he has done to these two ladies and he is so ashamed of himself, he can’t even get into the witness box to read an apology out to these two young ladies.”

In determining sentence, Judge Johnson described the trauma inflicted on the two women as “horrific”.

He said: “The threat to have your finger or toe cut off is just beyond imagination in the stress that would cause somebody.”

Curry was remanded in custody until Friday when sentences are also expected to be handed down in connection to two separate violent disorder incidents in Longford town in March and May 2022.

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