Tenant who sawed rafters out of roof and removed a fitted kitchen put couple through a ‘living hell’, Cork court hears – EchoLive.ie

A 67-year-old man was remanded in custody until April 16 for putting a couple through a living hell by seriously damaging their Ballinspittle house when he was renting it.

The couple described the living hell they were put through by the cruel behaviour of tenant, Denis OConnor from Hillside, Cappagh, Kinsale, County Cork.

As well as causing an estimated 16,000 in criminal damage by sawing rafters out of the roof and other acts of destruction, he refused to pay rent for 16 months he was in the house.

The owner of the house, Audrey OMahony, said the financial strain due to the lack of rental income from the Ballinspittle house made it hard to meet their own mortgage repayments forcing them to cut back on groceries, clothing and heating. She said stress ultimately led to her collapse on one day and being rushed by ambulance to hospital.

Judge Sean Donnabhin said he had huge sympathy for Ms OMahony.

Noting that defendant Denis OConnor had so far come up with 2,500 compensation, the judge warned him he was facing a jail term if he could not come up with further compensation.

Sentencing was adjourned until April 16 and the accused was remanded in custody until then.

Ms OMahony testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that she believed OConnor cut the rafters on the roof of their Ballinspittle house in an effort to make the property unsellable so they would be forced to sell it to him at a reduced price.

She said the 67-year-old put herself and her husband and family through a never-ending nightmare by what he did from the time he began renting their house from them in 2015.

I believe that it was Denis OConnors intention to get permanent possession of our house without paying us and that he is not the least bit sorry for what he has put us through. His actions against us are inexcusable, cruel and downright wrong, she said.

He pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the house by removing roof rafters and damaging floors and various fittings at the OMahonys property at Duneen, Ballinvredig, Ballinspittle, Co Cork between December 5 2015 and July 23 2018. He also admitted the theft of a fitted kitchen worth 1,000 which he removed from the property to replace with his own kitchen, which he in turn removed when he left, leaving the house without a functioning kitchen.

Garda Cormac Dineen told how the OMahonys moved from the single story cottage in Ballinspittle to their new home in Clonakilty and put the house up for rent and OConnor, a handyman, began renting the property in 2015 and agreed to carry out some minor repair works with their consent.

However, the OMahonys gave him no permission to carry out some of the works that he did, including the removal of 27 roof rafters to use to put a V-shaped roof on a portable building and taking up a hall floor and other actions which left the OMahonys with a bill for damage totalling 16,000.

Garda Dineen confirmed OConnor has no previous convictions and defence barrister, Donal OSullivan BL said his client was remorseful. But Judge Sean Donnabhin queried this as he had observed OConnor shaking his head during the evidence against him.

Ms OMahony told the court OConnor stopped paying rent in April 2017 and told them things were going to get nasty.

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Tenant who sawed rafters out of roof and removed a fitted kitchen put couple through a 'living hell', Cork court hears - EchoLive.ie