A monster who subjected a woman to a sustained attack in which he doused her with boiling water and acid, has been jailed for 11 and a half years.
Christopher Stokes, 39, was handed down 12 years with the final six months suspended for a horrific assault in which he held Simone Lee captive in her home in Limerick in May 2021.
Ms Lee, 43, was held captive in her home in Fairview Crescent, Garryowen, Limerick by her former friend Christopher Stokes (39), who mercilessly beat her, placed bin liner over her head, and also poured boiling water over her before setting the apartment on fire on May 11, 2021.
On Thursday, Cork’s Central Criminal Court heard the full facts of the case after Stokes pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Ms Lee and threatening to kill a man named Tim Fehin.
He also pleaded guilty to a count of intentionally or recklessly causing damage by fire to the house in Fairview Crescent on the same date.
Today the court heard how Stokes blocked the door of the home with a fridge having forced Ms Lee and Mr Fehin into the apartment - where he then beat Ms Lee and threatened to kill the pair.
The court heard how Stokes told Mr Fehin he was “going to kill the two of you” and said “I’m going to cut her up and bury the two of you.”
Giving evidence in the case, Detective Garda Aled Harkin of Henry Street Garda Station in Cork confirmed to Prosecuting Counsel Sean Gillane SC that Ms Lee met Mr Stokes through a mutual acquaintance and he would often visit her home.
On May 9, 2021, Stokes stayed over and was present at the address on May 10, the court heard. During the course of the day Mr Stokes began to “get agitated” and had expressed concerns about a lack of money stemming from having to make maintenance payments.
In the early evening Mr Stokes asked Ms Lee to get Mr Fehin, a 71 year old friend, to call down to the premises - which he did at 8:30pm. After that Mr Stokes agitated “increased” and he began to “speak aggressively” to Ms Lee and Mr Fehin, the court heard. Mr Fehin then observed Mr Stokes first striking Ms Lee with a blow that knocked her to the ground.
The three of them then left the premises and got into Mr Fehin’s Ford Mondeo and went to the Lidl store in Charleville - where Ms Lee and Mr Stokes went inside and purchased Captain Morgans rum at around 10pm.
In the course of the journey, Stokes continued to speak aggressively and struck Ms Lee again on a number of occasions.
After getting back into the car Stokes struck further blows to Ms Lee about the head - and struck her with a glass bottle over the right hand side of her head, causing her to bleed.
Mr Fehin, who told gardai he was fearful of Mr Stokes himself, said he observed this and saw that Ms Lee was “crying and upset.” They arrived back at the apartment at around 10:45pm in the evening during which time Stokes instructed Mr Fein to park outside the premises and to come inside.
Ms Lee emerged from the vehicle and was once again attacked by Mr Stokes who carried out further blows and a kick - causing the victim to fall to the ground.
Mr Fehin indicated that he wanted to leave but Stokes told him to enter the property - at which stage he placed a fridge freezer up against the door to “ensure no one could leave.” Stokes then continued to strike Ms Lee - hitting her in the jaw, causing her to fall and hit her head off a TV stand.
At this stage, Mr Fehin said that Stokes threatened to kill both of them saying: “I’m going to cut her up and bury the two of you.” Stokes told Mr Fehin that he intended to bury Ms Lee on Mr Fehin’s farmland.
During the course of these events he also indicated that he was going to “finish the job” that the “other eejit” did not. The court heard that this was a reference to another individual who had previously assaulted Ms Lee on another occasion.
Stokes further assaulted Ms Lee, visiting blows on her head and at one point placing a bin liner over her head, causing her to feel a tightening on her neck.
At one point she lost consciousness, the court heard. Later Ms Lee asked Stokes if she could use the toilet and he “told her to go in her own pants,” Mr Gillane said.
Mr Fehin was present throughout all of these events and said he witnessed Stokes placing the bin liner over her head and could hear her struggling.
Stokes placed the victim down on the couch and Mr Fehin said he felt particularly frightened for her at this point. At one point Stokes suggested to Mr Fehin that he get his car and that it would be used to bury Ms Lee at his place.
Mr Fehin then managed to escape the premises by moving the fridge out of the way, the court heard. After he left Stokes continued to assault Ms Lee - and at one point splashed ammonia acid at her face three times.
He also boiled a kettle of water and poured it over her back, causing her excruciating pain. Mr Fehin called Henry Street garda station at 2:45am but did not tell gardai the full detail of what had happened.
Gardai called to the premises but did not enter - having not been told the full extent of what was going on inside at that point.
Ms Lee then lost consciousness and her next memory is of waking up and smelling smoke - and noticing that she was covered in boxes that were lying on top of her.
She then realised that her home was on fire and managed to run out of the premises, where she was spotted by a neighbour who had awoken and discovered the place ablaze.
The neighbour did his best to help Ms Lee and called emergency services who arrived at the scene shortly after 4:30am and immediately attended to the victim.
Gardai noted that she had a swollen lip, singed hair and visible burn marks to her face at the scene.
Stokes meanwhile was discovered still inside the property and was taken outside by the fire brigade before he was cautioned and arrested.
During the course of Ms Lee’s treatment a statement was taken off her - and she was taken to hospital and treated for burns that covered 10 per cent of the body surface area of her lower back. A CT scan showed that she had a small left side haemorrhage.
In interview Stokes, who has 13 previous convictions, initially denied pouring boiling water and placing a bin liner around Ms Lee’s neck.
In a victim impact statement Timothy Fehin said that during the incident Stokes threatened him and beat Simone Lee in his presence - leaving him “terrified out of my mind.”
He said that Stokes “threatened to kill me and told me he planned to do it,” adding that he had never been so frightened in his life.
He said being unable to help Ms Lee still haunts him and the memory of Stokes threatening to kill him and bury him in his own land “still terrifies me.”
In her own harrowing victim impact statement Ms Lee said she still has scars from the attack and feels pain from medical skin graphs she underwent as a result of the “serious sustained assault.”
She said she was “vulnerable,” “petrified” and was in “so much fear” during the incident and that she still struggles to sleep to this day. Her family thought she was dead, she said, and she finds herself being unable to wear certain clothes because of her scars.
She said that only recently she saw photos of her injuries and “couldn’t believe” how bad her injuries were. She added that as a result of what she suffered she has scars that are both mental and physcial.
“I was blind for three days. I was frightened out of my mind,” she said. “As a result of the arson I lost my home. I lost all my possessions. I miss my flat. It was mine. I was settled there.”
Ms Lee said she was now scared to move on in her personal life because of fear of someone else.
“I trust no one now,” she said, adding that she was very depressed after the incident and sought help. “This is the second time in my life that I was violently assaulted. I cannot remember much of the details from the first but this I remember strongly every day.”
She said that Christopher Stokes had tried to finish the job and she “feels so lucky to have survived.”
She said she now wishes to tell her story and to make a positive impact for other people who are victims of assault
“I’m a survivor not a victim. This assault is still with me. It’s a daily battle,” she added.
The presiding Judge called Ms Lee a “courageous woman” and thanked her for her statement.
The matter was adjourned and will be called again tomorrow when the judge indicated he will be in a position to issue a sentence.
Defence Counsel for Mr Stokes said he wished to “apologise in unreserved terms” to Ms Lee and Mr Fehin for “what was visited upon them by him.”
He wishes he could “turn back the clock” but “recognises that is not a possibility,” he added.
Sentencing Stokes, Mr Justice Michael McGrath said it was a "vicious", prolonged assault that meritied the upper scale in terms of severity in sentencing.
He jailed Stokes to 12 years in prison, with the final six months suspended, and added that the other sentences - six years for threatening to kill Mr Fehin, and seven and a half years for arson - were to run concurrently.
He also backdated the sentence to when Stokes first went into custody in 2021.
And speaking outside court following the hearing, Simone Lee said she was happy with the sentence.
"It's a strong, big sentence and I’m so happy because at least the next person who tries to do that will think about it and they’ll stop.
"He had a choice to stop at any stage and he didn’t until he thought I was dead," she said.
Asked about her strength, the brave survivor says she feels she now has her voice back.
"I’m like wow. Going to Coolmine was the best thing I ever did for my mental health. I got my voice back.
"I’m not a victim, I’m a survivor."
She also described Stokes as a "scumbag" and an "animal," adding: "I don't know how I’m alive. He did keep on saying to me I’m going to finish what the other eejit started.
"I want to thank all the ambulance, fire brigade. I want to thank everyone that helped me."
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