Queen v Stockman (Paul)
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Hart J |
| Judgment Date | 25 November 2011 |
| Neutral Citation | [2011] NICC 36 |
| Court | Crown Court (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 25 November 2011 |
1
Neutral Citation No. [2011] NICC 36 Ref:
HAR8362
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
25/11/2011
(subject to editorial corrections)*
IN THE CROWN COURT IN NORTHERN IRELAND
________
BELFAST CROWN COURT
________
THE QUEEN
-v-
PAUL STOCKMAN
_______
HART J
[1] The defendant has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Patricia Bardon, but
guilty to her manslaughter. This plea has been accepted by the prosecution and it is
therefore necessary now to sentence him for her manslaughter. The defendant and
Patricia Bardon lived together in a flat at Elm Court in Belfast. They had been living
together for several years, and there is considerable evidence that their relationship
was characterised by very heavy drinking by both of them, together with episodes
when the defendant had been violent to her. While some of these episodes were
disputed by the defendant, others resulted in prosecutions.
[2] A list of incidents described as a domestic incident history was handed into
court by Mr Murphy QC (who appears for the prosecution with Mr Gary
McCrudden). Some of these refer to incidents that resulted in prosecution or police
investigations, whilst some were not pursued because Ms Bardon declined to make a
statement, and there was no independent evidence to confirm whether or not there
had been an assault. Many of these allegations must therefore be regarded as
unsubstantiated, and so they have to be disregarded when it comes to sentencing.
However, some can be regarded as having greater substance. In July 2007 Ms Bardon
came to the notice of North Wales Police when she alleged that the defendant had
gripped her around the wrists, and kicked her to the buttock area and to her back.
In August 2007, also in North Wales, he again allegedly attacked her, and on that
occasion the police noticed that she had a black eye. Both had been drinking. On
two occasions in May 2008 she complained to the Gardaí in Drogheda that he had
assaulted her, on one occasion striking her with a fire extinguisher. She was
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