Courts

Barbie Kardashian acquitted of threats to kill or cause harm to women at Limerick Prison

Accused wanted to make threats to two women for ‘revenge’ over rumour she was leaving showers dirty, court told

Barbie Kardashian case: the jury found her not guilty of three counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm
Barbie Kardashian case: the jury found her not guilty of three counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm
David Raleigh
Fri Oct 25 2024 - 17:01

Barbie Kardashian, who admitted in court to issuing threats to rape and torture a female prisoner, and threats to sexually assault a female prison officer at Limerick Prison, was acquitted on Friday of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to the two women.

Earlier on Friday, the accused, a transgender woman, told her trial she had wanted to “torture” a female prisoner, Tegan McGhee, when she threatened to rape her on February 25th, 2023.

Kardashian, who denied one count of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to McGhee, intending that she would believe the threat would be carried out, was found “not guilty” by a jury of seven women and five men following a four-day trial at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.

Kardashian had told the trial she had also wanted to rape prison officer Roisin Linnane, but that this would not have been a realistic threat, as she was locked up alone in her cell for 22 hours a day, and that she threatened Ms Linnane that she would “molest” and sexually assault her by “putting my hands between her legs and grabbing her vagina” as this would have been a “realistic” threat.

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The jury found Kardashian “not guilty” of three counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Ms Linnane, intending her to believe the threat would be carried out.

It took the jury two hours and 35 minutes to reach verdicts in respect of three of the counts. Earlier, the trial judge Colin Daly had directed the jury to find Kardashian “not guilty” of one of the counts against Ms Linnane.

After the “not guilty” verdicts were read out, Kardashian addressed her barrister Andrew Sexton SC, instructed by Yvonne Quinn and solicitor Julianne Kiely, inquiring, “on all three counts?”

Kardashian broadly smiled and whispered “Yes ... I’m so happy.”

Earlier today, Kardashian gave direct evidence in court that she had wanted to make McGhee and Ms Linnane “suffer” because she was upset and angry after rumours had circulated around the female wing of the prison that she had been leaving the showers dirty with body hair.

Kardashian, who was not allowed to mix with other prisoners on the female wing, told the trial she used the showers every day and left them clean. She said hygiene was very important to her and she “didn’t want to smell”.

Kardashian admitted in court to making a threat to rape McGhee and making threats to “sexually assault” or “molest” Ms Linnane.

“I wanted to punish them for life for making false allegations about me ... I wanted revenge,” Kardashian said.

Kardashian, who had told gardaí she had been raped and sexually assaulted a number of times as a child, gave evidence that she had wanted to make “a very extreme threat” against Ms Linnane in order “to make her suffer”.

Kardashian was raised as a male named Gabriel Alejandro Gentile and who had legally changed name by deed poll to Barbie Kardashian and received a certificate from the State recognising her as female in 2020, the court heard.