Courts / Dublin / Report
'I'm going to show you how to cut someone up': man's ear severed in 'deeply disturbing' ordeal
Summary
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, 26‑year‑old Sam Maughan pleaded guilty to causing serious harm to 43‑year‑old Mark Burke on 1 August 2018. Maughan and three other men held Burke in his Whitefriars Gardens flat for six hours, stabbing him and repeatedly cutting his right ear with scissors. The men also struck Burke with a bottle, forced him into a bathtub, broke a mirror over his head, and used a phone‑charger lead as a weapon. Burke was found collapsed outside his flat at 10 am, taken to St James's Hospital with extensive cuts and a largely severed ear. Maughan, who had 88 convictions and was homeless, was the only one to plead guilty; the other three are awaiting trial. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Maughan to seven‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment, noting his remorse and lack of psychopathy. The case was described as a "deeply disturbing" ordeal.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'I'm going to show you how to cut someone up': man's ear severed in 'deeply disturbing' ordeal. Charges or matters: causing serious harm to Mark Burke (43) on August 1, 2018 at the victim's home in Whitefriars Gardens, Dublin 8. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- August 1, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2021-05-11 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: causing serious harm to Mark Burke (43) on August 1, 2018 at the victim's home in Whitefriars Gardens, Dublin 8 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: He acknowledged Maughan had "no stability in his life" but said he had to sentence him for "really bad behaviour" before he imposed a seven-and-a-half-year jail term.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Whitefriars Gardens
- Dublin
- St James's Hospital
Topics
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