A 16-year-old girl charged in connection with the fatal roadside assault on Scarlett Faulkner and a 40-year-old woman appeared before Nenagh District Court on Thursday
A court has heard that a psychological assessment is to be conducted on a teenage girl charged in relation to the fatal assault of Scarlett Faulkner. The 16-year-old defendant is accused of causing serious harm to Ms Faulkner, 29, at the R494 Birdhill, Co Tipperary, on 21 March last year.
Appearing via video link from a youth detention centre at Nenagh District Court this Thursday morning, the girl remained silent except to confirm she could hear and see the proceedings.
Turlough Herbert, the girl’s solicitor from Herbert and Co Sols, Limerick, revealed that a psychological evaluation was being arranged while his client was held on remand. “In respect of the psychological evaluation, we have that matter in hand,” Mr Herbert stated.
A co-defendant, a 40-year-old woman, also appeared before the court via video link from Limerick Prison, reports the Irish Mirror.
Represented by solicitor Pauric Nesbit of Darach McCarthy Sols and Co, Limerick, the woman only spoke to verify she could hear and see the proceedings. Due to reporting restrictions imposed by a judge last March, neither defendant can be named.
Nenagh District Court Judge, Fiona Brennan, approved an application by prosecuting Gardaí for a four-week adjournment, with the consent of the solicitors representing both accused women.
The judge confirmed that reporting restrictions, initially imposed last March, are still in effect. The two defendants were remanded in ongoing custody to appear before Nenagh District Court for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions on 15 May.
Previously in court, Gardaí alleged that the accused girl hit Ms Faulkner at least 11 times on her head with an iron bar. It was also claimed that the girl laughed when shown a photograph of Ms Faulkner’s injuries by the Gardaí.
Last March, Limerick District Court heard from Gardaí that they had responded to a report of a violent assault near Birdhill on the afternoon in question, finding Ms Faulkner with severe head injuries on the R494.
Gardaí reported that Ms Faulkner was airlifted from the scene to University Hospital Limerick and later moved to Cork University Hospital (CUH) where she remained in a “critical condition” with “life threatening injuries”.
Ms Faulkner passed away from her injuries on 13 April after her life support was switched off at CUH on 12 April. Her funeral took place last Friday.
Gardaí alleged that the accused woman had been searching for Ms Faulkner for 24 hours prior to the attack, and that she burgled and vandalised a caravan while looking for Ms Faulkner and a man.
The court was told that the caravan burglary was allegedly filmed on a mobile phone by the accused girl.
Gardai alleged that the accused woman drove herself, the accused girl and others, in a car that chased and rammed a van, carrying Ms Faulkner and a man on the R494.
Gardai claimed that Ms Faulkner was seen exiting the rammed van and that the accused girl followed her and allegedly hit her on her head at least 11 times with an iron bar.
“Each injury is sustained to the head. 11 blows to the head can be observed on CCTV,” a garda stated in court.
The garda described the attack as “callous”, and further claimed that another young female filmed the assault on a mobile phone camera.
The garda provided uncontested evidence that the girl told gardai during interviews after her arrest: “I followed her and I hit her a few times with the pole and that’s what happened.”
Neither of the accused responded to the charges, gardaí said. The court heard that both accused are presumed innocent unless they say otherwise or are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Just two days after Scarlett’s funeral, her brother Jason, who helped to carry her coffin, died.