THE JURY in the trial of a man accused of causing serious harm to his elderly housemate in Bray has been discharged, after the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence for them to reach a guilty verdict.

Edward McCormack, aged 71, who had been sharing a house at Connawood Drive, Old Connacht Avenue, with Mrs Mary Brophy, has admitted assaulting the 79year-old woman with a hammer on the same occasion.

Judge Tony Hunt told the jury of eight men and four women at the Central Criminal Court that as a result of legal discussion based on the evidence of doctors, there was not sufficient evidence to prove there was a substantial risk of death in this particular case.

He said McCormack could not be convicted on what might have happened and he had to have reference to what actually happened. He said he had to apply the law and decisions of the higher courts whether he liked it or not.

Judge Hunt adjourned finalisation of sentence of McCormack on the charge of assaulting Mrs Brophy causing her harm at her home on August 31, 2008, until next month.

He later said one of the real problems thrown up by the case is that the sentencing options at the top of this offence are 'totally inadequate' but noted that McCormack was entitled to the benefit of the law as it is and 'not as one would wish it to be'.

The maximum penalty for assault causing harm is five years imprisonment or a fine.

Detective Garda Ciaran Murphy told barrister Garnet Orange, prosecuting, that Mrs Brophy had returned to live in Ireland in 2001 from England after her husband died. He said she had been friendly with McCormack and he came to live with her as a companion.

He said gardaí came to the Bray house on August 30, when McCormack allegedly kicked Mrs Brophy.

Garda Murphy said the following morning McCormack came into Mrs Brophy's bedroom and offered her a cup of tea, which she declined. He left and returned to the bedroom with a hammer and length of rope.

McCormack told her: 'You are going to get it for calling the gardaí last night.'

Garda Murphy said McCormack struck her with the hammer but she managed to grab it as she lay on the ground. She told him that he was going to kill her and he would go to jail but he replied he did not care.

She let go of the hammer and he hit her again. She managed to escape and run across the hall to his bedroom but he followed her and hit her again. The phone rang and as McCormack told her friend she was not there, Mrs Brophy ran back into her own room and locked herself in the bathroom.

She heard McCormack washing himself and rummaging about. She said she did not know how long she stayed there and but felt it was a considerable time. She did not know if she lost consciousness. When she came out she found her mobile phone was missing and her landline phone and address book were gone.

Mrs Brophy went to a neighbour's house that evening and she alerted her family and the gardaí.

She was treated at Loughlinstown Hospital for three displaced fractures of the skull along with other injuries.

Garda Murphy said he checked on Mrs Brophy on a regular basis and was delighted to see the recovery she had made. He said she had great family support in the area. He said McCormack had withdrawn €400 after leaving the house and gone to the pub. He later disposed of the landline phone and address-book in the city centre. He went 'off the radar' for a few days.

McCormack was arrested on September 4, last year, outside Mrs Brophy's house. He has one conviction in the United Kingdom for larceny as well as a number of court martials.

Garda Murphy said McCormack, who has spent most of his time in custody since his arrest, was no longer welcome at Mrs Brophy's house and that he had few friends in Ireland but had family in Scotland.

Senior counsel Colman FitzGerald (with barrister Lily Buckley), defending, said it was not a physically abusive relationship which had come to a head but was a one off event and completely out of character.

He said a number of things sparked rows between them including a sum of money allegedly given to Mrs Brophy by McCormack, which she believed was a gift, but which Mr FitzGerald said represented his client's life savings.

He said she occasionally told him to leave after a row and he said not until he got his money back.

He submitted prison-time weighed particularly heavily on elderly people due to the limited time left to them.

He said McCormack had entered an early guilty plea and had shown remorse and sorrow for his actions.

Mr FitzGerald said it was McCormack's intention to leave Ireland on his release as he has no links to this country and he plans go to Glasgow where he can stay with his elder sister.