Three elderly siblings were left battered and “covered in blood” after two armed and masked men burst into their isolated farmhouse and robbed them, Limerick Circuit Court heard on Wednesday.
Statements from the victims to gardaí were read into the record at the trial of father and son, Patrick (52), and Philip Roche, (24), who are accused of aggravated burglary.
The two accused, with the same address, at Kilcronan Close, Clondalkin, Dublin, deny aggravated burglary at the home of William, Nora, and Christina Creed, at Ballyluddy, Pallasgreen, Co Limerick, on May 31st, 2012.
Willie Creed (79), told gardaí: "One of them rushed at me and knocked me to the ground. He was stabbing me on the head with a screwdriver. There was blood running down along my face."
The court heard the three pensioners were beaten, tied up, and threatened their “throats would be cut” if they didn’t hand over cash.
The Creeds told gardaí the raiders were armed with a butcher’s knife, a screwdriver, sticks, and iron bars. “They asked for money and they said they knew we had three pensions and a lot of land,” Willie Creed told gardaí. “They told us they would cut our throats. One of them said he’d cut off my hands.”
Chrissie Creed (77), told gardaí she was "saying prayers" in her bedroom when she heard her sister Nora "screaming". She said when she came out of her bedroom she saw "two men standing over (Nora), and Willie had blood on his head".
She said she tried to phone her brother Tommy for help, but one of the raiders grabbed the phone and threw it to the ground. “He laid into me, hitting me. He threw me across the room. I thought they were going to kill us,” she told gardaí.
Nora Creed (72), said she opened the front door of the house and saw two men standing in front of her dressed in black. She told gardaí she was "punched backwards" onto a nearby window. The court heard the Creeds had saved up €5,000 in €50 bills to pay for work they planned to have carried out on the farm, but this had been stolen in the burglary.
Patrick and Philip Roche have also denied a charge of aggravated burglary, at Sunville House, Pallasgreen, on April 16th, 2012.
During this incident, Ann and Gerry Garvey and their four children were held at gun point at their home by a three-man armed and masked gang. A third accused, Alan Freeman, (37), of Pearse Park, Tipperary Town, who is on trial for the Sunville burglary, has denied the charge. The trial continues at Limerick Circuit Court.