Belfast man who allegedly stabbed brother and hit him with shovel up to 25 times is bailed
A Belfast man allegedly stabbed his brother and struck him with a shovel up to 25 times, the High Court heard today.
Daniel Braniff inflicted some of the wounds with a knife he kept under his pillow, it was claimed.
The 29-year-old is further accused of biting his brother and threatening to set fire to his home in the Ardoyne area while he was in it.
Braniff, whose address was listed as Brompton Park, denies charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possessing offensive weapons, threats to kill and threats to damage property.
He alleges that his 22-stone brother launched the attack during a row about him moving out of the house they were sharing.
The defendant was arrested after police were alerted to the incident on July 7 this year.
His brother, who was recovering at the time from injuries sustained in a motoring incident, told officers he had been sliced on the leg with a steak knife.
“He said (Daniel Braniff) had been sleeping with it under his pillow while staying at the injured party’s house,” a Crown lawyer submitted.
Amid a struggle the defendant also allegedly bit his brother on the ear and face before wielding a spade.
Counsel added: “The injured party said he was unable to move from the floor due to his injuries.
“The allegation is that he hit the injured party 25 times to the face, body and legs with the shovel.”
During a bail application it was claimed at one stage he threatened to return to the property, pour petrol through the letterbox and burn it down while his brother was inside.
Defence barrister David Heraghty described it as a weak case involving “quite extraordinary”, disputed allegations.
The court heard Daniel Braniff claims he was the one attacked with the shovel after announcing his intentions to move out.
“He says that his 22-stone brother was on top of him and during the course of that, in trying to defend himself, he bit (his brother) on the ear,” Mr Heraghty argued.
“The question is, who was the aggressor here.”
Referring to the alleged victim’s wounds, the barrister contended that his dislocated shoulder and other injuries were sustained when a motorist deliberately drove into him during a previous hit-and-run incident.
Based on the defence submissions, Mr Justice Rooney decided to “take a chance” by granting bail to the accused.
The judge ordered Daniel Braniff to live under curfew at an approved address and imposed an exclusion zone around the home of his brother.
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