The Central Criminal Court has heard a woman will "never get over" a prolonged attack by her partner in Dublin almost two years ago, after which her unborn baby died.
Lisa Ward was 32 weeks pregnant when she was punched, kicked and dragged around the streets of Dublin in the early hours of 25 April, 2021 by her then partner Dean Paget.
Paget, who is 34 and of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and will be sentenced next week. He was also charged with intentionally ending the life of a foetus, false imprisonment and threatening to kill Ms Ward, who is now 32.
The court watched CCTV footage showing the assaults on Ms Ward which took place in areas around the south inner city in the early hours of the morning.
Warning: Readers may find some details distressing
The footage showed Paget punching Ms Ward repeatedly, kicking her in the abdomen and dragging her along the street, in a number of different locations.
Some of the footage also included audio of Paget calling the name of the unborn child, threatening to kill Ms Ward and to "rip" her baby out of her.
He accused her of being with another man and said the other man was the father of the child.
Both Ms Ward and Paget were homeless and living in a tent at Montague Lane in Dublin 2 at the time.
The footage shows them returning to the tent and "significant movement" taking place inside the tent.
The footage ends with Ms Ward leaving the tent and running down the lane. She went to the Rotunda Hospital later that day where it was confirmed that her baby girl had died.
In a victim impact statement, read by Detective Garda Grainne Collier, Ms Ward said the assaults would live with her for the rest of her life. She said she was looking forward to bringing her baby girl into the world but she never got a chance.
She said she didn't know how she was going to face this life and all the hope she had had been torn away from her. She said all she could do was visit her daughter's grave. She said it would be with her for the rest of her life and nothing would make it better.
The court heard the baby had died due to placental abruption where the placenta comes away from the mother’s womb.
Prosecuting counsel, Shane Costello said the foetus could not survive this and it was likely caused by abdominal trauma due to the assaults.
Defence counsel, Anne Marie Lawlor said Paget, who left the courtroom while the CCTV footage was being shown, had given her a clear instruction to express his remorse.
She said he had witnessed "grievous violence" in his upbringing in the form of very significant and serious assaults on his mother by his father as a child and was also a chronic drug user. He has 68 previous convictions.
In a brief letter read out to the court, Paget said he knew the hurt and pain he had caused were all his fault and he hoped Ms Ward could find it in her heart to forgive him.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott said he would sentence Paget next week.
