Courts / Kilkenny / Report

Dad turned car into 'battering ram' and ploughed into family home

Summary

In January 2020, William Harty, aged 31, deliberately crashed his Peugeot estate car into his family home in Kilmanagh, Co. Kilkenny, causing over €50,000 in damage and leaving the building structurally compromised. He pleaded not guilty to endangerment and criminal damage, but a jury found him guilty at the Kilkenny Circuit Criminal Court and Judge Cormac Quinn sentenced him to five years imprisonment. Harty appealed, arguing that a 999 call made by his wife should not have been presented to the jury as real evidence. At the Court of Appeal, Kathleen Leader SC contended the call was hearsay and that photographs taken hours later showed the crime scene had not been preserved. Garret Baker BL for the Director of Public Prosecutions acknowledged some evidential infirmity but said it had no practical effect on the outcome. Harty expressed remorse for using his car as a battering ram while his wife and children, all under eight, were inside.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Dad turned car into 'battering ram' and ploughed into family home. Charges or matters: endangerment and criminal damage at his home address during the early hours of January 22, 2020. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• January 22, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-01-28 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report