A 25-year-old woman has told Tralee Circuit Court she thought she was going to die during a brutal attack in which she was stabbed nine times in her own home last year.
The woman was the victim of an opportunistic attack by 20-year-old Slovakian man Robert Bily on August 7th last year, as she watched Netflix in her apartment by herself.
Mr Bily previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm and one count of sexual assault to the same woman, and one count of burglary in respect of another apartment.
At the time of the attack, Mr Bily had been in the country for about five weeks.
Mr Bily was in the apartment complex to enter another flat, but upon entering her apartment, he immediately forced himself upon the woman in what was described as a terrifying, life-changing attack.
Mr Bily grabbed the woman and forced her towards the bed, telling her he wanted sex and a kiss.
He then placed one hand on her windpipe, while holding a knife and punching her repeatedly in the face with the other.
Mr Bily stabbed the woman nine times with the knife; five times in the neck, twice in the shoulders and twice in the back, while continuously asking her for sex as he lay on top of her.
The knife, which was presented in court, was damaged due to the force of the stabbings, and the blood splatters went onto the ceiling.
The court heard Mr Bily took the woman’s phone and left the apartment, locking her inside with no way of calling for help as she lay lifeless in the bathroom.
Sgt Gilmartin said the woman heroically managed to crawl out a window while losing considerable amounts of blood, to the roof outside, where she remained hunched in a ball screaming for help until someone spotted her from the street.
Sgt Gilmartin told the court when gardaí arrived, they had to pull the paddy wagon against the wall and climb on top of it to help her off the roof, as blood pooled in the gutter so badly it was like rainwater.
The woman suffered a collapsed lung, liver laceration, and required an immediate blood transfusion as she had lost so much blood in the attack.
Mr Bily made admissions to his cousin that night, who brought him to the garda station.
Mr Bily originally concocted a “cock and bull” story to explain why he was there, but admitted to the offences after being shown CCTV footage.
Senior Counsel for the defence, Vincent Heneghan, said there was no getting away from this being a savage and brutal attack on an innocent person.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said she suffers physically and mentally since the attack, during which she thought she was going to die.
She said her independence has been taken from her, and she suffers from recurring nightmares about what happened that night.
The sentencing hearing was adjourned until October 31st as the defence awaits a psychological report.
