A Co Antrim pensioner who hit his neighbour in the face with an axe and caused “life-changing injuries” has been jailed for nine years.
Following the September 2020 attack, 70-year old William Scott Kirkpatrick, of Russelltown Road in the Gracehill area of Ballymena, swung the weapon at two other neighbours who came to the wounded man’s assistance.
Having been deemed a dangerous offender by Judge Rose Ann McCormick KC, Kirkpatrick had an extended custodial sentence imposed consisting of nine years in prison, followed by an extended period of three years on licence, at Belfast Crown Court on Monday.
Kirkpatrick was charged with a number of offences arising from the violent incident, which occurred on September 14, 2020, and at a trial earlier this year he was convicted of one charge of wounding, possessing an offensive weapon, and two counts of common assault.
Kirkpatrick refused to engage with Probation for the preparation of a pre-sentence report on three separate occasions.
Judge McCormick noted that as well as denying the offences, Kirkpatrick has given several differing accounts of what happened on the day in question - one of which was rejected by the jury when he gave evidence at his trial.
The judge said that prior to the axe attack, the injured party and Kirkpatrick has been neighbours for around 20 years and there had been “occasional friction but nothing of the scale that occurred that day”.
During the trial, the jury heard that just before the attack the men had exchanged words at the rear of their homes. The injured party went into his house to retrieve his mobile phone as he intended to record what was unfolding.
After exiting his home, the neighbour approached Kirkpatrick’s back door - and at this point Kirkpatrick came out of his property brandishing an axe.
He swung the weapon at his neighbour and struck him on the face, and when the wounded man fell to the ground, Kirkpatrick continued the attack.
Two other neighbours rushed to the scene to assist the wounded man, which prompted Kirkpatrick to swing the axe at both of them, telling one “I’ll have you too”.
The two neighbours restrained Kirkpatrick until police arrived and arrested him.
The injured neighbour sustained a 12cm laceration to his cheek, a fractured cheekbone and damage to facial nerves.
He required surgery for what Judge McCormick said were “life changing injuries” and she said the victim has been left with “physical, mental, emotional and financial challenges”.
“Four years on from this incident, it is plain that the victims and their families are deeply affected by the defendant’s actions and his subsequent disregard for their trauma,” she said, adding that Kirkpatrick has “never expressed any remorse” for the incident.
He has been examined by three psychiatrists and has been diagnosed as suffering from a delusional disorder.
A 10-year restraining order bans Kirkpatrick from contacting his three victims or being within 500 yards of their homes.
