A 69-year-old woman who was attacked and forced into the boot of a car in Dublin last year said she feared for her life before she managed to fight her way free, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
Martin Gallagher, 21, from Rusheeny Avenue in Hartstown, pleaded guilty to assaulting and falsely imprisoning the woman on Blackhorse Avenue on 6 January 2020.
The court heard Gallagher drove off at speed after a man came to the woman's aid when he saw her legs sticking out of the boot of the car.
Gallagher apologised in writing for his actions and the court heard he was of limited intellectual capacity and "extraordinarily intoxicated" at the time.
The court also heard that he is "overcome with remorse".
Judge Martin Nolan said he will sentence Gallagher tomorrow.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Gallagher was waiting on Blackhorse Avenue at around 7.30am on 6 January last year with the boot of his car open when the victim walked past.
The woman was caring for her husband who had dementia and had gone for an early morning walk before he got up.
Gallagher attacked her from behind, picked her up and threw her in the boot of the car.
She kicked and screamed and fought him off, sitting up in the boot as he tried to slam it close on her legs.
When he could not, he dragged her out and tried to force her in through the front left passenger door and when that failed he threw her against a wall and she hit her head.
A man driving by saw what happened and came to the woman's aid.
Gallagher drove off at speed, but was arrested that evening.
He denied he was involved and claimed he had been in bed from 8pm the previous night until 4.30pm that day.
Gallagher was released, but arrested again two days later. He was charged when his DNA matched scrapings found under the victim's nails.
He also claimed that it had been a joke that went wrong and that he thought the woman was a friend of his called Alex. He also told gardaí he had been drinking all day and night.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said her life changed that day in a way she thought it never would.
She said she has nightmares, flashbacks and sleepless nights and her husband, who died last year, did not know why she was crying all the time.
"God was on my side," she said. "And he knew I had to get out of the boot of that car.
"He [Gallagher] took me from behind. I looked into his face while I was in that boot. I was afraid for my life."
