Deborah Malcolmson sentencing adjourned until July 19

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Deborah Malcolmson’s sentencing was adjourned at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court until July 19, to allow Brian Kelly an opportunity to give victim impact evidence if he wished.

Malcolmson pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Kelly at his home in Rathfarnham on 29 July 2019. She also pleaded guilty to making a threat to his son and assaulting Kelly at St James Hospital on 11 September 2019.

The court heard that Malcolmson admitted stabbing Kelly with a kitchen knife during a row, leaving him seriously injured and needing a colostomy bag. He required intensive care and a lengthy hospital stay.

Judge Martin Nolan took account of Malcolmson’s long-term difficulties with alcohol and said she had been warned about her tendency towards aggression when drinking. He identified five years as the maximum sentence and starting point for the assault causing harm offence. Taking mitigating factors, including her guilty plea, into account, he indicated he would impose three years’ imprisonment on the next date.