A man who kicked his girlfriend twice in the face and then slashed the throat of a 32-year-old man, who later died in hospital, has been jailed for eight years.
Aaron Babbington, 31, of no fixed abode, but formerly of Churchfield in Cork, had pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Jason Butler on 14 June 2023 at Grand Parade in the city.
Mr Butler died at Cork University Hospital two days after the incident.
The Central Criminal Court in Cork heard that on the day of the attack, Mr Butler, who was from Castleredmond in Midleton, bumped into Babbington and his girlfriend by a shop on Grand Parade at about 7pm.
A person working in the shop said that all three were in good form and exchanging banter with each other.
They were sharing a bottle of vodka and sat down together on a bench at nearby Daunt Square.
Detective Sergeant Colin Greenway said that about 40 minutes into the chat, Babbington became "frustrated and angry" at the attention his girlfriend was paying to Mr Butler, adding that the "attention was not reciprocated in any way".
"An eyewitness passing by heard Aaron Babbington saying he was going to stab him (Butler) and commenting either 'you are going to die' or 'you are dead'.
"After these threats, he hit his girlfriend twice in the face and kicked Jason Butler in the head.
"He picked up the bottle of vodka, drank its remaining contents, held it by the neck and attempted to smash it against the Argos building. He made nine unsuccessful attempts.
"His girlfriend and Jason Butler got up to try to escape. Unfortunately, Mr Butler fell to the ground and was unable to regain his feet and was helpless on the ground when Aaron Babbington returned and smashed the bottle off the concrete bench.
"He then turned to Jason Butler and, with the sharp broken bottle, he bent over him, wrapped his arm around his neck, and pressed the bottle into his neck."
A victim impact statement was handed in to told Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford on behalf of the Butler family. However, it was not read out in court.
Babbington apologised to his victim's family via his barrister Tom Creed.
Mr Creed said that his client hailed from a dysfunctional background and stressed that he wanted to address his addiction issues.
"He realises now that his attempt to take the life of another human being has had a serious effect on him.
"While an unstable environment cannot excuse his behaviour on the day, it is something the court can look at."
Ms Justice Lankford noted that the "entirety of the incident" had been captured on CCTV.
She said that the Director of Public Prosecutions had accepted a plea of attempted murder in the case arising out of difficulties relating to the exact cause of death.
The attack was "entirely unprovoked" and "it has been difficult for the prosecution to establish the sole or main cause of Mr Butler’s death," the judge said.
Mr Butler died of hypoxic ischemic brain injury, with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, she said, following sharp force injury whilst intoxicated.
Ms Justice Lankford commended a passerby who intervened "very bravely and very expeditiously" when he saw the attack occur.
She said the victim impact statement submitted by the Butler family was "very moving and very impressive".
"It is clear Jason Butler was a much-loved brother who had family support and family love."
Babbington, who was jailed for 10 years with the last two years suspended, has 143 previous convictions, mainly for drug possession and public disorder offences.
Mr Butler was living at Deerpark House Hotel on Friars Walk in Cork at the time of his death.
It is a support service which assists people as they attempt to move on from homelessness.
