Murder accused threatened to chop off chef's fingers in text before fatal attack
A man charged with the murder of a 33-year-old chef sent him a text threatening to chop off his fingers just hours before he was fatally attacked in a car park, a court in Cork has heard.
Dylan Scannell, 30, is on trial at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in the city charged with the murder of Ian Baitson in a car park in Cobh, Co Cork in March of last year.
Mr Scannell has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. However, he denies murdering the father of two.
The trial previously heard evidence that Mr Baitson suffered a 'mostly severed (left) leg' and 'catastrophic bleeding' after he was attacked by a man with a sword in the Eurostar car park on March 15, 2024. He died in Cork University Hospital four days later.
On Wednesday, evidence was given of texts and phone calls between the two men. Detective Garda David Kelleher completed a forensic extraction of a mobile phone believed to be that of Ian Baitson. The mobile phone was found in the Eurospar car park in Newtown Road in Cobh in the aftermath of the attack.
The court was told that over 300 interactions occurred on WhatsApp between Mr Baitson and Mr Scannell over a period covering August 2023 to March 2024. A number of the messages consisted of the men making plans to meet up so that Ian Baitson could pay off a debt he owed to Mr Scannell.
In the period before his death, Mr Baitson maintained he owed Scannell 'less than €500'. However, Mr Scannell insisted that the deceased man owed him €2,500.
On February 20, 2024 Scannell texted Mr Baitson that he was 'delusional' after Baitson said he was being 'snappy' and queried the amount owed.
On March 10, 2024 Mr Baitson texted Scannell that he would give him €185 that Thursday and then they were 'done'.
'I pay this €185 on Thursday, that is the end of it. You can delete my name, we are done bud.'
Mr Scannell, of O'Rahilly Street in Cobh called Mr Baitson a 'cheeky pr***' in response. He said that he had stopped a fella from cutting off his private parts a few months earlier.
He subsequently called Mr Baitson a 'scumbag'. On March 14, 2024, Mr Scannell texted Mr Baitson and said he was going to call to his home. Mr Baitson texted back the following day about a text Mr Scannell had sent him of a sexual nature and asked was it a 'threat'.
Mr Scannell told him to call it whatever he wanted.
'I am going to smash you when I see you.' A few texts later, Mr Scannell messaged Mr Baitson saying: 'Who do you think you are? Think you are a hard man? I am going to chop your fingers off, you smart c***."
The pair arranged to meet that night (the evening of March 15, 2024) in the Eurospar car park in Cobh. The last text Mr Baitson sent Scannell was later that evening, when he told the accused he was on the way to the car park.
Evidence was given by Helen Goggin, the mother of the deceased, that Ian had told her he would be back home in a matter of minutes on the evening of March 15, 2024. At about 8.40pm that day he told her he was going to Eurospar. Twenty minutes later, Ms Goggin heard sirens. She was told her son was en route to hospital.
She said that four days later, they had to turn off the machine at the hospital. Her son was declared dead.
The case will continue on Thursday morning. It is being presided over by Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and is expected to last a week.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
6 hours ago
- Sunday World
One of Ireland's most notorious rapists is back on the streets after prison release
John Connors served eight months for failure to provide gardai with address John Connors broke into a woman's house in 2006 and raped her while her son was in an adjacent room. Connors was freed from prison for that offence in 2019 — but he was jailed for 10 months in November of last year after the court heard he'd been residing at an address in Bray, Co. Wicklow but hadn't notified gardai. He appeared before Bray District Court on November 7 where the sentence was imposed after he was convicted of failing to notify gardai of an address he was staying at for a qualifying period, between September 14th And October 10th, as required under the terms of the Sex Offenders Act. John Connors News in 90 Seconds - June 21st Connors, originally from Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, was released from the Midlands Prison on Thursday morning. 42-year-old Connors and his former pal Patrick Moorehouse (38) served 14-year jail sentences for the horrific rape of the young woman in 2006. The two Wexford men forced their way into her house on August 31 that year and raped her while her young child was in an adjacent room. Read more At their trial in December 2008, their victim recounted how the two men forced their way into her home. They had called at her door asking if she wanted to buy a camcorder. Her young child was in the living room when she was pushed into a bedroom and Moorehouse punched her. She was pushed on to the bed and a piece of rope that was on the floor was wrapped around her neck. Connors held the rope while Moorehouse raped her and then the men swapped places. The court heard the mother dared not make much noise as she was conscious of her child in the living room, who was unaware of what was happening. The two rapists dressed and left after threatening her not to tell anybody what had happened. Both Connors and Moorehouse both later denied the rapes in court. They were both unanimously convicted of rape by a jury in the Central Criminal Court in 2008. After he was released from custody for that offence in 2019, Connors continued to offend. In April 2023, Connors was jailed for 10 months at Wexford Circuit Court over a spree of thefts he committed the previous June. On June 29, 2022, Connors broke into a building at Ballydawmore, Tinnacross, Enniscorthy, Wexford for the purposes of theft. That same day, or the following day, at Ballybeg Great, Screen, Co Wexford, Connors stole an Ifor Williams Trailer valued at €5,000. And, on June 30, 2022, at Drumgoold Villas, Enniscorthy, he handled a stolen yellow strimmer knowing that the property was stolen or was reckless as to whether it was stolen. On July 6 2023, at Gorey District Court, he had an additional five months added to his 10 month sentence when he was convicted of stealing an MCM single axle trailer to the value of €1,750 at Coonogue Ballymurphy Carlow on June 24, 2022. It's understood that following his release from prison on Thursday, Connors returned to his native Wexford.
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Man who anally raped woman jailed for five years
A man who anally raped a woman on their first date, despite her telling him repeatedly he did not have her legal consent to do so, has been jailed for five years and three months. Gary Coffey (37), formerly of Leinster Road West, Dublin, was found guilty by a jury of one count of anal rape and one count of sexually assaulting the woman at his home address in January 2023 following a Central Criminal Court trial in March this year. The court heard the victim wished to keep her anonymity and did not wish for Coffey to be named. However, he is not legally entitled to anonymity as there is no link between him and the victim that could lead to her identification. Sentencing Coffey on Thursday, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor said the aggravating factors included that the offending took place in Coffey's home, a place where the victim had been invited and should have been safe. READ MORE The judge noted it was 'important to remember' that consent to sexual activity can be withdrawn. She added the jury heard evidence during the trial that there was consent to certain sexual activity but not to anal sex. The judge set a headline sentence of seven years, which she reduced to six years, having considered the mitigation and Coffey's personal circumstances. She suspended the final nine months of the sentence on strict conditions, including that Coffey place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 12 months post-release, and backdated the sentence to when he entered custody in March. The court heard the pair met on an online dating site and had arranged to go for drinks on the evening in question, but Coffey asked the woman to come to his house instead as he needed to shower. Det Garda Seán Carrick told the court the pair had some drinks in Coffey's bedroom as the woman did not wish to meet his mother. They started engaging in consensual sexual activity, but Coffey said he didn't want to use a condom and instead asked the woman if he could have anal sex. The woman refused, saying she had never done this before and had no wish to do so. They had consensual vaginal sex but Coffey kept pestering the woman to let him have anal sex with her. The court heard the woman told Coffey he did not have legal consent to have anal sex with her, later telling gardaí she could not have been clearer in relation to her wishes. At one point, when Coffey went to the bathroom, she got dressed, but Coffey told her she couldn't leave and persuaded her to come back to bed. While there, he anally raped her with his finger. The woman was terrified, and Coffey had his arms around her chest to the point where she felt like she was choking. She managed to escape the bed and left the house quickly. She blocked Coffey on the dating website and WhatsApp, and when he phoned her repeatedly, she blocked his number. She contacted the rape crisis centre and gardaí shortly afterwards and was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit. When Coffey's home was searched, gardaí found five tasers and a quantity of cannabis. He was convicted of these offences and has a total of eight previous convictions, the court heard. In his plea of mitigation, Seamus Clarke SC, defending, said a psychological report prepared for the court indicated that Coffey potentially had a form of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in addition to mental health issues. Mr Clarke told the court Coffey now accepts he was wrong and didn't have the woman's consent, despite the fact that the probation report concluded that while he accepts the jury's verdict, he is not accepting responsibility for the rape.
The Journal
a day ago
- The Journal
Man jailed for five years for rape and sexual assault of woman on first date
A MAN WHO anally raped a woman on their first date, despite her telling him repeatedly he did not have her legal consent to do so, has been jailed for five years and three months. 37-year-old Gary Coffey, formerly of Leinster Road West, Dublin, was found guilty by a jury of one count of anal rape and one count of sexually assaulting the woman at his home address in January 2023 following a Central Criminal Court trial in March this year. The court heard the victim in the case wished to keep her anonymity and did not wish for Coffey to be named. However, he is not legally entitled to anonymity as there is no link between him and the victim that could lead to her identification. Sentencing Coffey today, Justice Karen O'Connor said the aggravating factors included that the offending took place in Coffey's home, a place where the victim had been invited and should have been safe. The judge noted that it was 'important to remember' that consent to sexual activity can be withdrawn. She added that the jury heard evidence during the trial that there was consent to certain sexual activity, but not to anal sex. The judge set a headline sentence of seven years, which she reduced to six years, having considered the mitigation and Coffey's personal circumstances. She suspended the final nine months of the sentence on strict conditions, including that Coffey place himself under the supervision of the probation service for 12 months post-release, and backdated the sentence to when he entered custody in March. The court heard the pair had met on an online dating website and had arranged to go for drinks on the evening in question, but Coffey asked the woman to come to his house instead as he needed to have a shower. Detective Garda Seán Carrick told the court that the pair had some drinks in Coffey's bedroom as the woman did not wish to meet his mother. They started engaging in consensual sexual activity, but Coffey said he didn't want to use a condom and instead asked the woman if he could 'fuck (her) in the ass'. The woman refused, saying she had never done this before and had no wish to do so. They had consensual vaginal sex, but Coffey kept pestering the woman to let him have anal sex with her. The court heard the woman told Coffey he did not have legal consent to have anal sex with her, later telling gardaí she could not have been more clear in relation to her wishes. Advertisement At one point, when Coffey went to the bathroom, she got dressed, but Coffey told her she couldn't leave and persuaded her to come back to bed. While there, he inserted a finger in her anus and then anally raped her. The woman was terrified, and Coffey had his arms around her chest to the point where she felt like she was choking. She managed to escape the bed, and left the house quickly. She then blocked Coffey on the dating website and WhatsApp, and when he phoned her repeatedly, she blocked his number. She contacted the rape crisis centre and gardaí shortly afterwards and was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit. When Coffey's home was searched, gardaí found five tasers and a quantity of cannabis. He was convicted of these offences and has a total of eight previous convictions, the court heard. Gardaí also seized his phone and saw messages Coffey had sent to his brother and friends. In his plea of mitigation, Seamus Clarke SC, defending, said a psychological report prepared for the court indicated that Coffey potentially had a form of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, in addition to mental health issues. The report concluded that if Coffey addressed his poor mental health and potential neurodivergence and addiction issues, he would then be at a lower risk of re-offending. Clarke said his client had written a letter to the court stating that this offending was out of character for him and does not reflect the kind of person he is. 'I have come to understand that my understanding of consent is flawed,' Coffey said in the letter, adding that he prides himself on being respectful and kind to everyone he meets. 'I am not a bad person and I never intended to cause harm,' Coffey continued, before he said he was deeply sorry for the hurt he had caused. He said he hopes he can also move forward 'with compassion and accountability'. Clarke told the court that Coffey now accepts that he was wrong and didn't have the woman's consent, despite the fact that the probation report concluded that while he accepts the jury's verdict, he is not accepting responsibility for the rape. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
