Courts / Waterford / Report
Woman who snatched new-born from hospital 20 years ago jailed as suspended sentence for 'frenzied' knife attack found too lenient
Summary
In May 2025 the Court of Appeal sentenced Susan McGovern, 44, to three years' imprisonment after quashing her fully suspended four‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence from Waterford Circuit Criminal Court. McGovern had been convicted of robbery under the Criminal Justice Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001 and a Section 3 assault for luring a man to her apartment and attacking him with a knife. The appeal judge, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, found the earlier full suspension too lenient, citing McGovern's 19 prior convictions, including theft, knife possession and child abduction, and her history of drug addiction. The new sentence retained the four‑and‑a‑half‑year term with 18 months suspended, and the court noted that the knife caused facial injury to the victim, who required stitches. McGovern had previously been jailed for five years in 2001 for abducting a newborn from a Cork maternity hospital. Susan McGovern pleaded guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Woman who snatched new-born from hospital 20 years ago jailed as suspended sentence for 'frenzied' knife attack found too lenient. Charges or matters: robbery contrary to Section 14 of the Criminal Justice Theft and Fraud Offences Act, 2001 on May 21, 2022 at her home address. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- May 21, 2022 Incident
- October 10, 2024 Incident
- 2025-05-16 Publication
Why: The victim told gardaí in a statement: "I was afraid because she was waving the knife at me. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: robbery contrary to Section 14 of the Criminal Justice Theft and Fraud Offences Act, 2001 on May 21, 2022 at her home address (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: She was sentenced by Judge Eugene O'Kelly to four-and-a-half years, suspended in its entirety, on October 10, 2024. In 2001, McGovern was jailed for five years after she admitted abducting a newborn baby from a maternity hospital in Cork.
Places mentioned
- Barker Place
- O'Connell Street
- Barker Place
Topics
Drugs Fraud Stage Appeal Theft Violent Crime
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