'Sadistic' criminal bit ex-girlfriend and kept machine gun at home is jailed

David Raleigh

A “sadistic” criminal who kept a loaded machine gun, savagely bit his ex-girlfriend, and threw her grandmother’s ashes in a fire, has been jailed for 13 years with the final 18 months suspended.

Sentencing judge Colin Daly said the defendant, Willie Woodland (31), of Shanabooly Road, Ballynanty, engaged in “barbaric” and “gross” attacks on his ex-girlfriend after their relationship ended.

Woodland committed the firearm and assaults, as well as other offences, while he was at large for a year and wanted by gardaí for breaching the terms of a suspended sentence he received in respect of a 2018 firearms offence.

Judge Daly told Woodland’s sentencing hearing at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court that on September 3, 2024, gardaí searched Woodland’s family home at Shanabooly Road, Ballynanty, Limerick, found him in possession of a loaded machine gun, 18 rounds of ammunition, €6,000 worth of cocaine, cannabis, as well as €1,000 cash that Woodland admitted was the proceeds of crime.

Gardaí told the court that the firearm, a 9x18mm Makarov-calibre Ray-PM63 submachine gun, was loaded with 15 rounds when they recovered it.

Woodland also admitted videoing himself posing with the gun, when it was not loaded, pulling the trigger and sharing the video on Snapchat.

He pleaded guilty to possessing the gun and ammunition; possessing the drugs for sale or supply; and having €1,000 cash gained from criminality.

Woodland also admitted assaulting his ex-girlfriend on two occasions, breaking into her home while armed with a knife, attempting to steal her mobile phone, and robbing the phone.

Judge Daly said that during the first unprovoked attack in June 2023, Woodland “followed” the woman, “knocked her to the ground, pulled down her tracksuit bottoms and bit her on her rear”.

The judge said in the second attack, in September 2023, Woodland burgled the woman’s home, “approached her in a violent manner, took her in a bear-hug, pulled a knife from his pocket and bit on the face, neck and back”.

Judge Daly said the victim was terrified and “she thought she would be killed”.

When Woodland left the house, the woman contacted gardaí and obtained a court protection order against him.

The court heard that Woodland’s DNA was found during forensic tests on swabs gardaí took of the woman’s bite marks.

Judge Daly described Woodland’s actions as “an act of gross degradation” and “barbaric”.

“He put his hands down her pants, he bit her three times, in the face, neck and back, which should be considered sadistic,” the judge said.

Woodland also showed the woman video footage of him throwing a locket of the woman’s beloved late grandmother’s ashes into a fire which further left the woman tormented.

In a victim impact statement read in court on her behalf, the victim said: “He entered my home with vengeance, when we weren't even still together, he pinned me down and he bit me like some sort of animal.”

“He threatened me and my family and said he was going to shoot me dead. It was nasty, he was wishing chance on my nana, and he followed my 69-year old nana with a knife.”

“He’d ring me multiple times, it got physical to the point where it began to be normal.”

The victim said she eventually found refuge, away from Woodland, in a woman’s shelter.

Judge Daly said Woodland “involved himself in organised criminality” and the sale of drugs, in respect of having the loaded submachine gun, cocaine and cannabis.

Woodland also pleaded guilty in court to possessing €10,000 worth of stolen goods that were thieved by others during burglaries on homes in Co Limerick, while he was on the run from gardai.

Woodland, who had a raft of previous convictions, received seven years in jail for the firearm and ammunition offences, and a consecutive six years for aggravated burglary in which he bit his ex-girlfriend and stole her phone. The final 18 months were suspended.

The sentence was backdated to September 5, 2024, when he was arrested and remanded in continuing custody.

Woodland received concurrent sentences for the other offences outlined above.

The judge said he would make a decision in two weeks on whether or not to revoke a suspended sentence imposed on Woodland for a firearms offence imposed on him in 2018, which he breached when he committed the other offences.