‘My little girl never had a chance’ – Woman who was beaten by her ex in a brutal attack that resulted in her losing her unborn baby says life will never be the same

A man who attacked his pregnant ex-partner and told her ‘I’m going to rip her out of you’ will be convicted of attempted murder next week.

Jean Paget, 34, of no fixed address, has pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Lisa Ward, 32, on April 25, 2021 at Montague Lane, Dublin 2. Ms Ward was 32 weeks pregnant when the attack took place.

The Central Criminal Court heard that Paget accepts that he intentionally ended the life of a fetus and that he falsely imprisoned and threatened to kill his ex-partner.

In a victim statement read in court today, Ms Ward said Paget had to live with what he did to her and their little girl.

“I want him to pay for everything he’s done. There is no turning back for him – he knew what he was doing.”

Paget, 34, had to be pardoned by the court after showing graphic CCTV footage of the “abhorrent violence” he committed which resulted in Ms Ward losing her baby.

Prosecutor Shane Costelloe SC guided Detective Garda Grainne Collier of Pearse Street Garda Station through the facts of the case.

Det Gda Collier told the court that Ms Ward and the accused were living in a tent at the time and that the victim was 32 weeks pregnant with a baby girl whom they had named Ruby Rose.

She said an altercation between the couple began after Ms Ward was seen with another man.

A considerable amount of surveillance and audio recordings of their movements had been collected as part of the investigation and compiled for the court.

As prosecutors began playing the footage, Dean Paget got up to leave and return to the holding cell area, but was stopped by two prison officers.

A supporter of the victim shouted: “You committed the crime” and “there is no point in him leaving the court”.

Judge Paul McDermott agreed to a defense motion to allow the defendant to remain outside the court while the footage played.

CCTV evidence was being recorded at various locations in Dublin city center into the early hours of April 25, 2021.

In one clip, Paget can be seen arguing with Ms Ward on Dame Street at 4.56am, yelling at her: “Is he your boyfriend?”

Footage then shows him attacking Ms Ward, punching and kicking her multiple times in the stomach while she is lying on the ground.

The court also heard an audio recording from a camera on the street, in which Paget can be heard saying, “You want the guards? I’ll rip them out of you.”

That, said the Garda, has to do with the baby.

Footage shows further attacks in Dame Street and Digges Lane, with Ms Ward being punched and dragged across the ground multiple times.

Det Gda Collier said that in the course of the attacks, Paget threatened to kill his partner and called their child “a bastard,” which prosecutors say refers to his claims that someone else fathered the child.

The court was shown more footage of them setting up a tent together on Montague Lane around 5am, which was followed moments later by “considerable movement inside”.

Det Gda Collier said Ms Ward could be seen on CCTV around 10.30am that morning exiting the tent “carefully” so as not to alert Paget before fleeing.

She later visited Rotunda Hospital because she was concerned about her baby’s well-being.

Tests at the hospital confirmed there was no fetal heartbeat. An autopsy later determined the cause of death to be placental abruption, which was a major consequence of the attack.

Det Gda Collier said Paget was arrested and initially claimed the victim had made up the seriousness of what happened.

He was later shown CCTV footage during a Garda interview. After seeing the footage, the court heard he said he didn’t remember much of the incident.

The Garda agreed with defense attorney Anne-Marie Lawlor SC that Paget accepted it was him in the footage and was upset during his fourth Garda interview.

In a statement on the impact of the sacrifice, Ms Ward said life “will never be the same again”. She added that she thinks about what happened every day.

“I was looking forward to bringing my little girl into this world. She never had a chance,” Ms Ward said in the statement, which was read by Det Gda Collier.

She also said that Paget has to live with what he did to her and their little girl.

“I want him to pay for everything he’s done. There is no turning back for him – he knew what he was doing.”

Ms Ward said her baby, Ruby Rose, was a “beautiful little girl” whose grave she is now visiting to keep her memory alive.

Defense attorney Ms Lawlor said she could not comment on the “graphic display of heinous violence” carried out by her client.

Mitigatingly, she argued that he was a chronic drug user at the time, that he had made an early confession of guilt, and that he showed remorse.

In a letter written by Paget, he said he was “ashamed of my life” and wished he could “turn back time.”

Ms Lawlor also said the attack was not premeditated, involved no weapons and did not involve any third parties.

Paget was convicted on February 7 and remanded in custody.

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