A mother of three and two men have been charged after another woman reported she was ‘tortured’, beaten and burned during a 13-hour violent ordeal.

Sarahanne Smith, 36, Paul Walsh, 39 and 44-year-old James Colton, all from Tallaght in Dublin, appeared before Judge Treasa Kelly at Dublin District Court yesterday.

It follows a Garda investigation into a woman’s complaint that she was bound and placed in a car boot, attacked, gagged, drugged and had her hair shaved, in Tallaght in the early hours of October 7.

All three defendants were charged with false imprisonment of the complainant at Mr Colton’s home, at Fortunestown Close.

Ms Smith and Mr Walsh face additional charges of assault causing harm and production of various articles as weapons during the alleged incident.

It was alleged that Ms Smith instigated the violence, which was suspected to have been caused by the loss of a handbag and a ‘paranoid’ accusation that the complainant was seeing her partner.

Despite the public service strike which shut down scheduled court sittings, their bail hearing proceeded because gardaí brought them to an emergency court sitting to object to their release.

Garda Aaron Melinn told the court that Mr Colton, who did not apply for bail, ‘made no reply to charge’. Detective Garda Niamh O’Connor and Garda Brian Law gave evidence that the injured party turned up at the Tallaght accident and emergency department and contacted gardaí and said she had been tortured for 13 hours.

She reported to gardaí that she had been ‘kidnapped, tied up, struck with metal bars, repeatedly assaulted and burned’ and that she knew her attackers.

The court heard that the woman disclosed a detailed recollection of the events. She said she had attended Mr Colton’s home and was ‘forcibly restrained with zip ties to her wrists and ankles and severely beaten with kicks and punches to her body, and that she was burned by means of boiling water to her head, and by heated instruments to her face’.

She also alleged that clumps of her hair were removed by force with a head shaver, and her hand was crushed forcefully using a mastic sealant gun tool.

A scene-of-crime examiner took images of her injuries, and they appeared to include a bite mark on her leg and marks as a result of the zip ties, Judge Kelly noted.

The complainant has alleged to gardaí that her attackers ‘poured ammonia on to her head’.

In her detailed statement, she outlined her recollection that she had gone to Mr Colton’s address where Ms Smith placed her in a headlock, and Mr Walsh began shaving her hair off. It was alleged Mr Walsh and Ms Smith ‘took turns shaving her head’.

She maintained Mr Walsh then handed a mastic gun to Ms Smith, who then began to clamp the injured party’s hand. Judge Kelly heard that the woman has claimed that Mr Walsh and Ms Smith ‘sustained this assault for two to three hours, during which they punched and kicked her as she lay on the floor’.

The alleged victim told gardaí that Ms Smith heated a builder’s trowel and then placed it on her face. The woman told gardaí she was tied up by her ankles and wrists with zip ties by both Mr Walsh and Ms Smith.

The Garda witnesses said the woman was instructed to lie on a white sheet on the floor, retied by Mr Walsh and Ms Smith. She maintained that the pair forced her to consume Tranax tablets, which she did out of fear.

Gardaí from the serious crime unit in Tallaght searched the house and recovered high-quality CCTV footage with audio from a neighbouring property. It showed the defendants at the house, the court heard.

She was ‘screaming for help’ but ‘whimpering’ when placed in a car boot, the court heard. It was alleged Mr Colton and Mr Walsh spoke to the driver, an unknown person, and placed the woman in the car.

The driver inquired, ‘What is that, is that a bird?’, referring to what had been put in the boot, the Garda witnesses said.

It was alleged that the car brought her away, but it returned shortly afterwards with Mr Walsh driving and Ms Smith, who lived 200 yards away at Fortunestown Crescent, in the passenger seat.

The court heard the woman passed out and could not recall how long she was in the car but woke back in Mr Colton’s house.

Detective Garda O’Connor said that Mr Colton told the woman: ‘I think they are going to kill you because they are afraid you will go to the police.’

She later stumbled from the house hours later in ‘an extremely disoriented state’. Ms Smith initially denied involvement but told gardaí she had heard rumours about the incident.

Mr Walsh denied the claims, saying he was not a violent person. Despite choosing to proceed with the bail hearing and represent himself, the court denied his application.

He and Mr Colton will appear at Cloverhill District Court on October 20. Judge Kelly held that Ms Smith could be granted bail, despite objections.

She was granted legal aid and will appear again in the same court next Tuesday.