A woman who stabbed her partner to death because she was in fear for her own life was jailed today for five years, after pleading guilty to his manslaughter.
Ann Phelan of Aylward Green, Finglas, Dublin 11, claimed David Ennis “wasn’t in his right mind,” after falling from a balcony a few days beforehand.
The court heard drugs were a feature of Phelan and Mr Ennis’ relationship.
Mr Justice Paul Burns heard they both had their own demons, but they were a support to one another and there was a genuine love between them.
In the days before his death, Mr Ennis suffered a bad head injury after falling from a balcony.
Phelan said he was not himself afterwards, describing him as “erratic and aggressive” and, on the night in question, she thought he was going to kill her.
She armed herself with a small knife from the kitchen but claimed it was just for her protection and she had no intention of using it.
She did use it though; she stabbed him three times but claimed she was acting in self-defence.
Her manslaughter plea was accepted on the grounds that while she was justified in defending herself, she used excessive force in doing so.
She was sentenced to six-years in prison with the final year suspended.
Main image: The Central Criminal Court of Dublin. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
