‘They ruined me': Natalie Ennis, tortured in Dublin flat, still awaits psychiatric support

Irish Times

6 days ago

A woman who is still waiting for psychiatric support after being
falsely imprisoned and tortured
for three hours in a
Dublin
flat last September has said her life has been 'ruined.'
Natalie Ennis was taken to a flat in Henrietta House in Dublin 7 over a false accusation about missing drugs.
The 38-year-old spent three weeks in hospital having suffered a broken eye socket, broken cheekbone, broken nasal bone, broken elbow, burns, dislocated teeth, bruising and lacerations across her head and scalp, among other injuries.
She was discovered by gardaí who arrived at the flat by coincidence to execute a warrant.
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'I thought they were coming for me, because the neighbours would have heard me screaming,' she said, speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time on Thursday night.
'I never thanked police so much in my life, because if they hadn't come through the door that day, I was dead.'
Throughout the three-hour ordeal, Ms Ennis was subjected to 'truly barbaric' violence, said Judge Pauline Codd, who
imposed sentences for the five men
ranging from 8½ to 14 years on Wednesday.
'They really ruined and stripped my life away from me. It took everything from me,' Ms Ennis said.
She is still waiting for psychiatric support some 10 months after the ordeal, saying she needs 'a lot of help'.
'They ruined me, I just kind of need help, that's why I'm waiting on psychiatrists and stuff like that,' she said.
Ms Ennis, who thought she was going to die in the flat, does not believe she will ever be able to live normally.
'I can't get on any public transport, I can't go near the city centre. I'm just going to my local shops and back every day and that's still a fright. I'm still looking over my shoulder,' she said.
'When I sleep, I get night terrors, very bad night terrors and sometimes I urinate myself,' she said.
Ms Ennis was beaten with metal poles, burned with a makeshift blowtorch, cut with a knife, kicked and punched, had her hair cut off and was threatened with rape.
The men took running jumps at her during the assault , threatened to make her drink ammonia and threatened to go to her teenage daughter's school and rape her.
Describing the pain as 'unbearable', she said: 'It was just pure evil what they done to me.'
'I had staples in my head leaving hospital as well. I can't remember how many, but it was a good lot from the hatchet being stuck in my head,' she said. 'I can't feel that side of my face.'
She hopes to move on for her daughter 'but I don't think that's going to happen, it'll always be in my head,' she said.