“I just froze,” said witness Adrianne Keary in Galway Circuit Court on Tuesday, testifying about an aggravated burglary that occurred on June 20th, 2016 in her house in Doughiska.
According to her testimony, she had been up early preparing breakfast for her three children at her house, number 61 An Sean Bhaile, when the doorbell went.
An acquaintance was at the door and asked if Keary’s ex-partner and convicted drug dealer Jonathan King was in. Keary called Jonathan and turned to go back to the kitchen when the door “flew back”, hitting her on the shoulder.
Tuam resident Eddie O’Loughlin – who later pleaded guilty to the charges – burst through the door with a bread knife and attacked King as he was coming down the stairs.
“I tried to keep my youngest daughter behind me,” said Keary in the witness stand. Keary was well-dressed and spoke clearly and quietly about the traumatic event.
King was stabbed six or seven times in the torso and then, according to Keary, “he got it in the face”. She described the scene: blood on the carpet, on the stair wall, and on King’s clothing, hands, and face.
Keary’s eldest daughter was at the top of the stairs and tried to pull King up away from his attacker. Meanwhile Keary ran outside and banged at the neighbours’ window to try and get help.
She saw O’Loughlin leave through her front door, still holding the bloody knife. Before getting into his car, he put his finger to his lips, as if to warn her to keep quiet.
When she returned to the house she described scenes of ‘panic’. King cleaned himself up while one of Keary’s daughters called emergency services.
Soon after Keary’s testimony, O’Loughlin changed his plea from not guilty to guilty, ending the trial. He was remanded in custody to await sentencing.
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