A young mother has been left blind and unable to breathe without assistance after the hostel she was staying in was set on fire earlier this year, a court has heard.
Shauna O’Brien, 22, is unable to speak and is suffering from chronic nerve damage after she fell unconscious while trying to escape the fire at the De Paul Hostel on Little Green St, North Dublin.
A victim impact statement prepared by her parents and read on her behalf at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday spoke of the “living hell and devastating trauma” endured by Shauna since the fire on March 26 and their concerns over whether she will survive.
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Keith Riggs, 38, of Deanstown Avenue, Finglas, North Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of arson and one count of endangerment.
Judge Dara Hayes extended his sympathy to Ms O’Brien and her family and adjourned sentencing to allow for a psychiatric report to be produced for Riggs. Ms O’Brien remains in intensive care under specialist medical teams from the Mater Hospital and from Boston.
Garda Conor Whelan told Shane Costelloe, prosecuting, that it has cost Dublin City Council over €2.8million to repair the De Paul Hostel and to house the residents elsewhere.
CCTV evidence from inside the homeless hostel was played for the court, showing Riggs going into a ground floor toilet at 4.51pm and emerging some 50 minutes later, followed by an orange flash and a plume of dark, dense smoke.
The next day Riggs presented himself at the Bridewell Garda Station and said he thought he was wanted in connection with fires the day before.
Riggs was interviewed several times and when asked at one point, “Were you trying to kill them all, or yourself, or what?” he responded: “Obviously.” Riggs will be sentenced on January 16.
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