Doctor describes girl's condition as life-limiting
The girl injured in the Parnell Square stabbing has a “life-limiting, severe disability” and requires 24-hour care, her doctor has told a court in Dublin. The girl, who was five at the time of the attack and is now seven, “cannot communicate her wants and needs”, which is “quite distressing” for her and her family.
Riad Bouchaker, 52, and of no fixed address, is charged with the attempted murder of two girls and one boy, and assault causing serious harm to care worker Leanne Flynn, at Parnell Square East in Dublin City on November 23 2023. Bouchaker is also charged with assaulting two young children and a teenager, and with producing a 36cm kitchen knife. He has pleaded not guilty to all eight charges.
Trial enters 12th day at Central Criminal Court
His trial at the Central Criminal Court, before Mr Justice Tony Hunt, is in its 12th day. The jury of nine men and three women has heard from witnesses, firefighters and doctors and has been shown CCTV footage and videos of Garda interviews with Bouchaker after his arrest. Jurors also heard two medical statements by doctors who treated two injured children that were read into the court.
On Wednesday, the jury heard from two healthcare professionals who have cared for one of the injured girls. Dr Louise Baker, a consultant paediatrician at Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street, said the girl was “a previously healthy five-year-old” who suffered a “severe acquired brain injury” after being stabbed.
Brain injury affects every aspect of function
Dr Baker said that “every aspect of the brain” was affected when blood supply to the brain was stopped during 40 minutes where her heart had stopped. She said the girl has “a lifelong, life-limiting” condition and will need to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Dr Baker said she is non-verbal so she “cannot communicate her wants and needs”.
She added: “(The girl’s) acquired brain injury means she doesn’t have control of her hands, her arms, her legs. She wants to do something but she can’t because the brain is not sending the message down properly, and this is quite distressing for her and her family.” The girl has to be fed through a peg tube to her stomach, as she cannot swallow her own saliva safely.
Dr Baker said the girl is “at risk of spinal curve and scoliosis”, has a lifelong risk of “further episodes of gut dystonia”, which are “extremely painful” episodes where medication and pain relief is required. She was treated at Temple Street for more than nine months where she was looked after by a multidisciplinary team, before going to the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Her family moved to new accommodation as she needs a wheelchair, a hoist, and a “huge amount” of other equipment.
Second doctor describes severe neurological disorder
Consultant paediatrician Dr Aoife Mahony told the court that the girl has a “severe neurological disorder” where the communication between brain and muscles is interrupted. She said that swallowing is a complicated muscular process so she is fed through a tube directly to her stomach, and that she gets “some tastes for pleasure but she doesn’t get nutrition orally”.
Dr Mahony said the girl “cannot interact with an object the way she wants to” and said “if you refer to something in the room she finds fun, her eyes light up and she smiles”, but it is difficult to assess her cognition beyond that as such tests require further engagement. She said they are trying technologies that could aid the girl’s communication, but said the process has been “very slow and we’re not sure how successful” it will be.
Care worker's injuries also detailed
Professor Ann Brannigan, a colorectal surgeon at the Mater hospital, said Ms Flynn was admitted to hospital with a major stab wound to her lower back. She said she had blood in her lung and a large diaphragmatic hernia, which is where the diaphragm bursts due to trauma and organs can “go up into your chest”. Prof Brannigan said Ms Flynn’s stomach had gone into the chest area, and there was a “significant” injury to her spleen. “I had to make a decision to remove the spleen,” she said, which was “a lifesaving measure” as the patient “would have gone into cardiac arrest if we weren’t able to stop the bleeding”.
DNA evidence links Bouchaker to knife
Earlier, the jury heard from Dr Yvonne O’Dowd, who has worked at Forensic Science Ireland for 20 years. Dr O’Dowd confirmed that she examined DNA evidence on a large black-handled Chef Aid branded knife that was around 36cm long including the handle, with the blade 24cm long and 2.5cm at its widest point. She said there was blood staining on both sides of the blade but not on the handle.
Dr O’Dowd said she saw under a microscope there was possible biological material on the knife’s handle, and took a sample of it. She said this was matched to the DNA profile of Bouchaker and it was “a thousand million times more likely” to be Bouchaker’s DNA profile than another unknown, unrelated person with the exact same DNA profile. Examining the blood stains on the knife, she said there were matches to the DNA profile of Ms Flynn, as well as the two girls whose attempted murder Bouchaker is accused of.
Under cross-examination from Bouchaker’s barrister, Dr O’Dowd confirmed that no match was made with the profiles of four other children’s DNA profiles who are at the centre of some of the charges facing Bouchaker. Dr O’Dowd said she also examined a black jacket with blood stains on it, a grey top and jeans which had biological material that matched the DNA profile of Bouchaker. Evidence in the trial continues on Monday.
