A 64-year-old man who poured a kettle of boiling water over his sleeping wife and attacked her with a claw hammer is to be given “one last chance” to obtain a psychiatric report before his sentencing hearing.
Noel Twomey of Carbery Grove, Knocknaheeny in Cork city, pleaded guilty in November last year to two counts of assault causing harm to his wife of 40 years, Jackie Twomey. The attack occurred at the family home on January 15th, 2024.
Doctors indicated that Ms Twomey narrowly avoided sustaining a serious cranial injury in the incident. They were also concerned her extensive burns could lead to sepsis.
The 63-year-old mother of three suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder following the attack. She still has a 3.5cm scar on her scalp.
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On Friday, at a sitting of Cork Circuit Criminal Court, barrister Paula McCarthy, for the State said Ms Twomey was “anxious” to have the matter finalised.
Defence barrister Seamus Roche SC, said that significant efforts had been made to secure a private psychiatric report for his client. Mr Roche indicated that delays in securing such reports were now a major problem for the courts. He said a report would help indicate whether the mental state of his client “is related to his culpability”.
Judge Dermot Sheehan directed that the prison psychiatric service prepare a report in advance of a sentencing hearing on February 16th, 2026.
Judge Sheehan said that the offence carries a headline sentence of 10 to 15 years, with Twomey facing “a substantial custodial sentence no matter what”. Twomey was further remanded in custody until the sentencing hearing.
Ms Twomey had previously told the court that the accused had poured boiling water on her head and hit her a number of times over the head with the hammer. “He didn’t seem to care about the damage he was doing to me. I thought I was going to die,” she said.
