*Photograph: John Mangan
A JUDGE has jailed for 18 months a 28 year old man who told his mother “I am going to kill Benson” before repeatedly stabbing the woman’s “beloved” 10 year old Pug dog with a knife.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed a 21 month prison term with the final three months suspended on Jason Burke of Cnoc na Scoile, Kilrush Rd, Ennis and formerly of Shannon.
Judge Comerford imposed the 18 month prison term for the assault causing harm offence by Mr Burke on his mother during the incident where he stabbed her dog.
Judge Comerford said that the circumstances of the assault brought it into the upper range of Section 3 assault causing harm offences and said that it was the most serious of the three offences that Mr Burke had pleaded guilty to.
During the incident, the court heard that Mr Burke stabbed Benson seven times in the neck and back and Benson had to be euthanised by a vet shortly after the dog attack on July 11th because of the injuries sustained during the incident at Cnoc na Scoile on Ennis’s Kilrush Rd.
Judge Comerford said that “it was a horrible thing to do to carry out a brutal attack” on Benson.
Garda Conor Langan said that when he arrived at Summerhill Veterinary Clinic in Ennis shortly after mid-day on July 11th 2023 where Mr Burke and his mother had taken Benson, he said that he noticed “blood spatters on Mr Burke’s face” while his mother “had bruising and swelling to her face” as Benson lay dead on the operating table after being euthanised.
Garda Langan said that Gardai recovered from Mr Burke ‘s bag a large Rambo style 10 inch knife and a smaller 3 inch flick knife.
In her statement to Gardaí, Mr Burke’s mother said that earlier that morning at their home, Jason Burke turned on her and grabbed her by the hair and arms and threw her around like a rag doll.
The woman told the court that Benson then came and started barking and she said that she was terrified as her son would not calm down.
She said that her son was picking Benson up and throwing him over the bannister and kicking her, punching her and throwing her on the ground.
She said that Mr Burke said: “I am going to kill Benson”.
The woman told Gardai that Mr Burke ran downstairs calling Benson and he located Benson who was hiding and then proceeded to use the knife on Benson.
Counsel for the State, Lorcan Connolly SC (instructed by State Solicitor, Aisling Casey) said that the woman “described how the event was traumatic as Benson was her beloved dog”.
In his sentencing, Judge Comerford said that Mr Burke’s mother had been ‘extremely compassionate” in her victim impact statement.
In her victim impact statement, Mr Burke’s mother told Judge Comerford that she recognised that what occurred on July 11th 2023 “was a psychotic episode and I forgive my son”.
The woman said to Judge Comerford that she would be grateful that her son “would get treatment rather than prison time”.
She said that he is an intelligent young man and has a lot of potential if he was given suitable ongoing treatment for his mental health issues.
In the case, Judge Comerford imposed a concurrent fifteen month prison term on Mr Burke for an animal cruelty charge where he stabbed his mother’s dog with a large knife on July 11th which led to the dog being euthanized.
Mr Burke has also entered a third guilty plea to having a knife in his possession which had a blade which was sharply pointed, contrary to Sections 1 and 7 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 at Summerhill Veterinary Clinic, Summerhill, Ennis.
Garda Langan said that Mr Burke has 11 previous convictions, has a history of mental illness and previously lived in Shannon.
Judge Comerford initially imposed a headline sentence of 48 months for the assault causing harm and a concurrent 45 month prison term for the animal cruelty charge.
However, Judge Comerford reduced the sentence after stating that Mr Burke’s culpability in the offences was reduced by him having a personality disorder.
A report handed into court stated that Mr Burke has a dis-social personality disorder.
Judge Comerford said: “It is a very sad case for the primary victim and a very sad case for the offender.”
Judge Comerford said that Mr Burke developed severe behavioural problems in his teenage years when he led a harsh existence.
Counsel for Mr Burke, Aaron Desmond BL (instructed by solicitor, John Casey) said that his client had entered an early plea of guilt and made efforts to save Benson by bringing him to the vet clinic.
Mr Burke has been on remand in custody on the charges since last July and Judge Comerford backdated the prison sentence to that date.
