A man has been jailed for five years for attempting to smother his sleeping wife with a cushion before setting her on fire with barbecue fuel and choking her.
Vaidotas Gedvilas (53), a Lithuanian national with an address at Ashefield, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, carried out the attack after the couple held a house party.
He told Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court that his actions resulted from a breakdown in communication and a “failure to handle my emotions”.
Gedvilas, a traffic management supervisor, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and two connected counts under Section 3A of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
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The attack happened between November 29th and 30th, 2024, after the defendant had been drinking alcohol.
Garda Stephen Jordan said he was alerted by a friend of the victim who saw her with severe burns to her back and bruising to her neck, arms, chest and legs.
The court heard the woman went to have a lie-down after they hosted a party and Gedvilas grabbed a cushion and put it over her face and tried to smother her.
The woman managed to grab a glass bottle and hit him over the head, the court heard. She told gardaí her husband then retrieved a “burning liquid”, barbecue fuel, from their shed and knocked her to the ground.
He sat on her, lifted her jumper and doused her back with the liquid, before fetching a box of matches and telling her: “I’m going to light you.”
The court heard Gedvilas said the woman would burn and he would “sit 10 years in jail”. He also filmed the attack with his phone; the footage was shown in court.
The woman managed to roll and put out the fire and then attempted to run away, but Gedvilas grabbed her neck and began choking her for five or six seconds. He knocked her down, kicked her hands and legs, and pulled her hair.
She managed to get out the front door but was pulled back inside. She said she lay down and the defendant “acted like nothing happened” the next morning.
Gedvilas, who has lived in Ireland for more than 10 years, was arrested but was unfit to be questioned for another six hours due to his intoxication.
He later told gardaí there was an argument and he was knocked unconscious after being hit with the bottle. He denied burning his wife and said she tried to burn the house down.
After being shown the video he recorded, Gedvilas admitted it was his voice but said he did not recall it happening. He later admitted to burning his wife but maintained he just wanted to scare her.
In a victim impact statement, the woman pleaded for leniency for Gedvilas, saying he had shown remorse and sought professional help in relation to his alcohol use. She said they were committed to repairing their relationship and that jailing Gedvilas would “do more harm than good”.
Gedvilas said the attack was out of character, he was profoundly ashamed and capable of meaningful change.
Judge Johnson noted the magnanimous views of the victim but said he had no option but to jail Gedvilas as such a “vicious and savage attack” could not be tolerated.
He set a headline sentence of nine years and took into account the guilty plea and mitigating factors before reducing it to six-and-a-half years, with the final 18 months suspended.
