The DPP vs Barbie Kardashian was “one of the most complex cases” a judge had dealt with in his career on the benches of the District and Circuit Court in Limerick, he said.
Judge Tom O’Donnell on Thursday jailed Kardashian, of no fixed abode, for five and half years, with the final 12 months suspended, backdated to May 9th last year.
Kardashian (21) was convicted by a jury last May of seven counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to her mother on dates in 2020. She was found not guilty of four additional charges of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to one of her social care workers.
Judge O’Donnell noted the defendant, a transgender woman, “is unrepentant” about wanting to kill her mother.
The evidence in Kardashian’s trial over four days at Limerick Circuit criminal court last year was shocking.
She had planned to travel to her mother’s house and overpower her, then rape and torture her with a screwdriver, knife and boiling water.
Judge O’Donnell said Kardashian had set out her plan in “chilling” detail. She had said she was going to wait in the house until she had satisfied herself that her mother had “bled out” and no longer had a pulse.
The judge had requested pre-sentencing psychiatric and probation reports on Kardashian’s “complex” background, from her childhood through to her adulthood, which he said had made for “chilling and disturbing” reading.
Owing to difficulties in her home, Kardashian had been taken into foster care at a young age. When aged 12 she was placed into residential state care on foot of a “High Court special care order”.
Her residency was extended beyond her 17th birthday at Coovagh House, Limerick, a residential facility for high-risk and vulnerable children, as it appeared there was no place in the State to meet her complex needs.
Kardashian remained at Coovagh House until her residency was due to expire shortly before she turned 19, and she was taken into custody at the women’s section of Limerick Prison in late September 2020 after appearing before Limerick District Court.
The authors of the reports feel it is incumbent on the State services and associated medical services to get involved and try to come to some long-term solution
— Judge Tom O’Donnell
Kardashian had disclosed the threats against her mother to staff at Coovagh House on dates between March and September 2020, including during a meeting to discuss a post-release care plan for her.
“From the evidence heard in this trial it is clear that the staff members at Coovagh House became very alarmed as the expiry date of the High Court care order approached in September 2020, and the nature and content of the threats issued by the accused became more sinister, more alarming and more vile,” Judge O’Donnell said.
“Such was the concern of the staff, gardaí were contacted leading to the charges brought against the accused.”
Kardashian has been clinically diagnosed with several “personality disorders”, which her defence barrister Mark Nicholas, SC, said makes her crave being the centre of attention.
Mr Nicholas suggested Kardashian’s threats against her mother were “pure fantasy”, and that she would get thrills and take “delight” in saying “shocking” things in order to get attention.
The court heard that psychiatric reports on Kardashian noted that she was displaying signs of PTSD and she had claimed she was sexually and physically abused when she was a minor.
Kardashian provided reams of pages of handwritten notes about how she feels “driven” to carry out acts of violence due to this childhood “trauma”.
Concerned about Kardashian being released into the community, Judge O’Donnell requested the probation services offer him advice “as to what the future might be for the accused”.
“Some of the major concerns of the report are that the accused is unrepentant about their threats to kill or cause serious harm to their mother. The [report] concludes the accused is at high risk of not just reoffending but also about committing serious crimes,” the judge continued.
“The major concern to this court is what is to happen to this accused once any sentence that might be imposed is concluded. The authors of the reports feel it is incumbent on the State services and associated medical services to get involved and try to come to some long-term solution.”
Acknowledging the court’s concerns, Kardashian’s barrister noted there should be some form of post-release care plan and “housing” supports put in place to meet his client’s needs.
“What to do? I’m not a doctor and I’m glad I’m not in the position you are, Judge, but this is a young person who has verbalised threats and wanting to go further [with them],” Mr Nicholas said.
“What to do ... what can we do? It is highly important to have a significant post-release supervisor plan in place but I’m not qualified enough to know what that is. It is a complicated case, and my client is a person who is young, confused, and who has several personality disorders,” Mr Nicholas added.
Five psychiatrists assessed Kardashian and her background file “and all five psychiatrists believe the cause presents a real danger of carrying out her fantasies,” noted judge O’Donnell.
He said the probation report reflected Kardashian’s “narcissistic tendencies and desire to be the centre of attention”.
The report also noted that Kardashian “pleaded not guilty to the charges in order to discomfort some of the members of the staff at Coovagh House, and also to garner as much publicity as possible for herself.”
Judge O’Donnell said it was also concerning that Kardashian continues to “effectually want to torture their mother to death” and that she has shown “a complete lack of remorse”.
“There is no doubt that the reports of the probation officer show a continuing, high level of venom towards her mother.”
Kardashian’s 15 previous convictions, including for sexual assault carried out when she was 13 years of age, were of “enormous concern”.
“All were involving violence and underpin the fact the accused has a tendency towards violence, which is always a concern.”
One can only hope that the relevant State agencies take heed of the stark warning contained in the probation officer’s reports
— Judge Tom O’Donnell
Kardashian nodded in agreement and smiled as the judge also noted “mitigating factors” in his summing up, including that it appeared some staff at Coovagh House have “remained in contact” with Kardashian and that “they should be commended for this”.
“The court acknowledges the extremely complex background of the accused, who at this stage must be regarded as a vulnerable person.”
However, the judge also noted the evidence of gardaí that they had “grave concerns” about Kardashian’s movements after she serves out her sentence, as she still had a “motivation to carry out the threats”.
Det Garda Niall Fitzgerald, of Roxboro Road Garda station, Limerick, said gardaí believe Kardashian continues to “pose a significant threat to those she has made threats towards, as well as to the wider public”.
In summing up, Judge O’Donnell said: “One can only hope that the relevant State agencies take heed of the stark warning contained in the probation officer’s reports.”
Judge O’Donnell warned Kardashian that he would consider enacting the final 12 months he suspended off her sentence if she did not engage with the probation services for a period of two years after her release, or if she communicated or attempted to communicate with her parents.
Kardashian agreed to reside at an address approved by gardaí and probation services after her release, that she notify the probation services of any post-release intimate relationship, and that she co-operate with a Garda liaison officer.
The Judge also ordered that the Irish Prison Service give the Probation Service six months’ advance notice of Kardashian’s release date.