Court is told 'naked' woman screamed from Airbnb balcony in Portrush that man was 'going to kill' her
A court was told a 'naked' woman was screaming from the balcony of an Airbnb in Portrush that a man in the apartment was "going to kill her".
Details were given to Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, on Tuesday where George Hawthorne (39), of Glenville Park in Newtownbbey, was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm; non-fatal strangulation, false imprisonment; making a threat to kill; and theft of a bank card on Saturday March 30 this year.
He is also charged with assaulting the woman on March 22 this year. The defendant appeared at court via video link from a police station.
Objecting to bail, a police officer said the defendant and a woman were in Portrush on March 30. Around 8pm police received a report from a member of the public saying a "female was screaming from a balcony that a male in the apartment is going to kill her".
The officer said the woman was "naked" and the man dragged her back inside the apartment. Police arrived and the member of the public identified the defendant as the man involved.
Police spoke with the woman in the apartment who said the defendant was on bail for a previous alleged assault on her the week before and they had gone to stay in an Airbnb in Portrush for a few nights.
The woman said that whilst in Portrush the defendant grabbed her by the hair and by the throat, saying he was going to kill her and at one point he would not allow her to leave the apartment.
The police officer said in a previous incident the couple had been staying at a B&B in Greenisland when the defendant told the woman he was "going to knock her b*llocks in".
When interviewed, the defendant denied the allegations and he said he dragged the woman back from the window in Portrush "because she was naked and he didn't want her to fall out".
The officer said police would have serious concerns as the defendant is a "Category 3 domestic violence offender" and in the past he was a "perpetrator to five other females".
He is deemed a "high risk". The defendant had a previous record.
A defence lawyer said the defendant admitted it was the "height of foolishness" to meet the woman in breach of bail conditions.
He said both were drinking at the Airbnb and the defendant had claimed the injured party had "two ten-glass bottles of vodka".
The lawyer said the defendant denied assault; and denied stealing the bank card, claiming the injured party gave him it to go and get £50 and get more alcohol.
The lawyer said the defendant claimed the woman had locked the door and had not been imprisoned by him.
The woman, it was claimed had been in a "state of nudity" whilst "heavily intoxicated" at a juliet balcony and with a risk of her falling over it the defendant had been acting to "safeguard her safety," the defence said.
District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons refused bail saying the defendant has a relevant record; five breaches of Court Orders; and he was also on police bail when he allegedly committed the offences in Portrush.
The defendant was remanded in custody and the case was adjourned to Coleraine Magistrates Court on April 28.