Jonathan Kingsbury, 41, violently assaulted his partner in Cork in 2023, leaving her with a fractured jaw and eye socket, a broken nose and two missing teeth
A man who attacked his partner so violently that she had to eat and drink using straws for months has been jailed.
Jonathan Kingsbury, 41, slammed his partner’s head against a counter and a wall in her home after they returned from a night out on March 11, 2023, Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard. He has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Kingsbury, who had been drinking at a pub in Cork, then punched the woman in the face, “put his hands around her neck and threw heavy kitchen items at her”, Garda Aisling Brosnan said. He also broke the victim’s phone during the attack.
The woman was hospitalised for three days and required surgery to insert metal plates into both sides of her fractured jaw, Cork Beo reports. She also suffered a fractured eye socket, a broken nose and lost two teeth.
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Ms Brosnan said the woman “ran from the house and called to neighbours, who contacted gardai”. Kingsbury, formerly of Connolly Road in Ballyphehane and more recently of Schull, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and criminal damage.
In a victim impact statement, the woman described suffering from anxiety and being reluctant to leave her home. She said: “Before I go anywhere, I’ll get an anxiety attack. It’s horrible. I want to cry. I want to get sick, I start shaking. I start over-thinking things.
“When I do go out, it’s just rushing to get things done and get back home. I’m always afraid I’ll bump into him. When I sleep, I sometimes have a dream and he could be in the dream so I wake up and that’s it then – I’m awake and lying in bed or walking up and down the kitchen with anxiety.
“Sometimes if I hear noises at night, I’m afraid that it’s him at my door. I even got my locks changed as I didn’t know if he had keys. I was always bubbly but I don’t go out anymore.”
The victim said her jaw still stiffens and that the metal plates make her anxious about travelling. “I’m going away in June abroad and I’m terrified about the machines and metal detectors in the airport, that my jaw will set them off,” she said.
“This is my first time going abroad since the assault. For months after it, I was eating and drinking through straws. I lost two teeth as well because of the punches he gave me.”
Defence barrister Nikki O’Sullivan BL said her client wished to apologise again and to assure the victim he would never come near her. She said he is disgusted with himself for his actions and has been sober for the past 18 months.
Judge Helen Boyle said that the attack has had a serious psychological and physical impact on the victim.
The judge said: “She spent months afterwards eating and drinking through straws. Her jaw still gets stiff very easily. She was afraid of meeting you and her daughter was also very afraid of bumping in to you.
“It is an aggravating factor that the assault was carried out on your partner in her own home. There was some element of not acknowledging that this was entirely your fault. It is very clear to everyone here that the blame lies with you for the vicious assault you carried out.”
Judge Boyle acknowledged that Kingsbury was “genuinely remorseful” for his actions and had spared the victim the trauma of giving evidence at trial.
She also said Kingsbury was no longer using drugs or alcohol and had been assessed as unlikely to pose a risk to the victim in the future. However, she warned he could pose a threat to an intimate partner in the future if he relapsed.
The judge jailed Kingsbury for three years and nine months, suspending the final nine months for a two-year period. A one-year sentence for criminal damage will run concurrently. Upon release, Kingsbury must maintain good behaviour and engage with the probation and welfare service.
