A woman who “forcefully” pushed her husband resulting in his death has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Olesja Hertova (49) of Hastings Lawn, Balbriggan, Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of the unlawful killing of James Ryan (69) on August 11th, 2024, at the above address. She has no previous convictions.
Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Martin Nolan said that, on the night in question, Hertova “lost her temper with Mr Ryan and pushed him forcefully”.
“I have no doubt that she did not intend to kill him,” he said.
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CCTV footage shown in court showed that Hertova forcefully pushed her husband, and he struck his head. The judge noted: “It is tragic for his children and extended family.”
Judge Nolan said Mr Ryan “seems to have been a very popular and vital to his family” and that his death has caused “huge trauma”.
He noted Hertova entered a guilty plea and co-operated with gardaí and that he does not believe she will reoffend in the future.
The sentence was backdated to when she went into custody in August 2024.
Det Gda Eoin McDonald told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that Hertova and Mr Ryan had been in a relationship for sixteen years and had a 15-year-old daughter together.
On the day in question, Mr Ryan had purchased a half-bottle of vodka for Hertova to have at a barbecue at their house. Once she had consumed the bottle of vodka, she went to the shop and purchased more alcohol.
After the barbecue, Mr Ryan went to a local pub and at 1am was seen entering a takeaway. He then took a taxi home, arriving at 1.30am.
The court heard that when Mr Ryan arrived home, both he and Hertova began to argue, and Mr Ryan walked out the front door of his home and unlocked a car in the driveway. Hertova followed him out and told him not to drive. She then pushed Mr Ryan, and he fell to the ground.
An ambulance transferred Mr Ryan to Beaumont Hospital where he was later referred to palliative care. He died on August 11th.
A postmortem examination was carried out, and the cause of death was a blunt force head injury due to a fall.
During a garda interview, Hertova said that she had been trying to pull Mr Ryan away from the car so he would not drive and expressed remorse.
When the CCTV footage was played in court, Hertova became visibly upset, as did members of Mr Ryan’s family.
Mr Condon, defending, outlined to the court that this was “one push with a tragic outcome”.
He asked the court to take into account his client’s early guilty plea and that she has been in custody since August 2024. He said as a result of this, she has now lost her home.
Counsel stated that Hertova has limited support and plans to return to her home country, the Czech Republic, upon her release from prison.
He handed a letter to the court from Hertova, which said: “I am so very sorry, and I will live with it for the rest of my life. I look at my hands daily and just want to cut them off. I think about my wrongdoing daily, and I am sorry.”
