Man who poisoned his partner of 30 years with Valium that could 'knock a horse out' avoids jail

The Journal

23-05-2025

A MAN WHO admitted poisoning his partner of 30 years told gardaí that he put Valium in her sandwich claiming they could 'knock a horse out for hours' they were so strong, has been handed a one year and six months suspended sentence.
Judge Eugene O'Kelly heard at the March sitting of Carlow Circuit Court that Mark O'Neill's partner Helen Nolan discovered the Valium tablets in a sandwich that he had made for her last August and that taking one bite, she didn't eat any more of it because it tasted 'metallic' and that she immediately went to sleep.
Mark O'Neill, of Cois na Coille, Pollerton, Carlow, was in court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to Section 12 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act, which is defined as 'intentionally or recklessly administering, or causing to be taken, a substance which he/she knows to be capable of interfering substantially with the other's bodily functions'.
Judge O'Kelly heard at an earlier sitting of the Circuit Court from Defence Counsel, Ross Pratt-O'Brien, B.L., that O'Neill and Ms Nolan had been in a relationship for 30 years and that they lived together at the above address in Pollerton.
He said that the accused accepted that it was a horrific thing to do. He co-operated fully with the garda investigation and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
The investigating garda told the court that O'Neill became sick in 2009 when he had cancer and that although he'd made a good recovery, he rarely left the house, didn't drive, didn't work and didn't socialise.
When the case came back before court today for sentencing, Judge O'Kelly said the accused man's partner was not aware of the substance used in the sandwich. The accused said he took it upon himself to do it as his partner was going through a difficult time. It was a shocking thing to do, he said.
'It was a shocking incident particularly with a person whom he knew had shocking medical issues which required lots of medication, so he knew perfectly well what he was doing to his partner,' said Judge O'Kelly.
The accused, said Judge O'Kelly, has no previous convictions.
'I have read victim impact statement. The Probation Welfare Report is positive. The accused currently does not have a strong support network and is of low risk of reoffending,' added Judge O'Kelly.
Judge O'Kelly said he would impose a sentence of one year and six months, which he would suspend in its entirety for a period of two years on the accused entering into a bond of €100.
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Speaking directly to the accused, Judge O'Kelly said 'I can assure you, that you have used up every opportunity that is available from this court.'
The court also heard that their relationship had deteriorated over the years, to the extent that it could be days or weeks without them speaking to each other, and that they also had separate bedrooms.
Defending Counsel, Ross Pratt O'Brien told the court that there was no violence or aggression in their relationship.
The court was also told that Ms Nolan suffered from fibromyalgia and diabetes, while O'Neill also took medications, but that their medications were kept in two separate locations in the house.
Judge O'Kelly heard that on the day of the offence, Ms Nolan was in her bedroom on the phone when she heard O'Neill on the landing outside so she asked him to make a sandwich for her.
He subsequently returned with a tomato and mayonnaise sandwich, gave it to her and left the bedroom. The court heard what when Ms Nolan took a bite out of it, it tasted metallic and didn't taste like it should have, so she put it down and didn't have any more.
She then fell asleep and when she woke up the following morning she still felt tired, so tired that she didn't feel like she had slept at all. She was 'overwhelmingly tired' throughout the day so she returned home to go back to bed, the court heard.
Judge O'Kelly was also told that when she saw the sandwich still on her bedside locker, the bread had turned blue in places, and, upon investigation, she saw blue tablets mixed into it. She went to her doctor, who said she was medically fine but advised her to go to the gardaí about the matter.
In a statement she gave to gardaí, Ms Nolan said she had had seven car accidents in recent months but she couldn't be sure it had anything to do with being medicated. She also told gardaí that she'd only taken a single bite of the sandwich and 'God knows what would have happened' if she'd eaten the whole thing.
The investigating garda told the court that when he went to arrest O'Neill, he made admissions in the patrol car saying that he'd put 'mayonnaise, tomatoes and two blue Valium tablets' in the sandwich.
He told gardaí that he wanted Ms Nolan to be able to relax because she'd been stressed in recent times and that he 'took it upon himself' to do it and that he thought he was 'doing the right thing'.
O'Neill told gardaí they were his tablets and that they could 'knock a horse out for hours' they were so strong.
Judge O'Kelly was told that the defendant had denied ever doing it before and that 'he had no intention of harming her because she meant too much to him' after she took care of him when he was sick with cancer.
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