A successful horse-trainer who was beaten by her elderly partner has revealed how she was forced to flee their Donegal home with her daughter with just €83 in her bank account.
Brave Kelda Morgan, 45, spoke out after her former partner William Lapsley, 75, was earlier this week given a six month suspended jail sentence for brutally assaulting her.
Lapsley punched Ms Morgan in the face, kicked her in the head when she fell to the ground and then struck her with a brush.
Jealous Lapsley had heard Kelda speaking on the phone to a man she had sold a horse to in France.
She had began a relationship with the man but Lapsley found out and attacked her leaving her with a black eye and other injuries.
Ms Morgan spoke to Donegal Daily saying she wanted to give other women hope that they can escape an abusive relationship no matter how difficult their circumstances may be.
The mum-of-one, who later married the Frenchman, now lives in Co Meath where she said they lead a very happy and normal life.
Lapsley was sentenced to six months in jail this week but had the sentence suspended after pleading guilty to assault causing harm to Ms Morgan at the home and farmyard they shared at Altaskin, St Johnston.
Ms Morgan arrived in Ireland from her native England as a 20-year-old and began a relationship with Lapsley shortly afterwards which lasted for almost the next two decades.
At the start she admits Lapsley gave her an “immense sense of purpose, a promise of belonging and security” as they shared a farmhouse together while she trained ‘unbroken horses’ to international level.
However, she revealed how Lapsley would often lose his temper and she often wanted to leave the relationship but couldn’t.
She said “It was not the first time he lost his temper but I simply felt like I was trapped.
“It was too hard to leave as he knew how much horses and my security meant to me. Plus, the threats I could never live in Ireland if I left.”
However, the final straw came on September 2nd, 2018 when Lapsley viciously attacked Kelda in the yard of the house they shared outside the village of St Johnston.
She had told Lapsley her relationship with the Frenchman was over but in the afternoon he overheard them speaking on the phone and Lapsley exploded in a fit of rage.
The Frenchman overheard “screaming and shouting” on the phone and immediately called Letterkenny Garda Station saying he feared for Ms Morgan’s safety.
When Garda Simon Morrison arrived at the couple’s house, Lapsley was outside and admitted that they had had an argument.
Gardai went to see Ms Morgan and she was suffering from a black eye after Lapsley’s brutal attack.
Kelda said the attack, which happened in front of her young daughter, was the final straw.
She said “After he gave me the beating in front of our daughter, I was never going back. She must know his behaviour was completely unacceptable.
“My daughter and I escaped with a small bag of belongings and €83 in my bank account.
“I had been trapped by him for so long and I found it so difficult to set up a new life for myself and my daughter – even to get money to get by.
“The social welfare department were very unsure of my situation but we managed to get by with the help of friends.
“I will be forever grateful to certain people, good people, who really helped us.
“I realise that without fantastic family and friends my escape would not have been possible and I simply can’t put a price on that.”
Kelda revealed the day she left was her daughter’s birthday but she didn’t even have enough money on her to buy her a card.
She said “I didn’t have any money when I did leave. I remember putting €2.60 of diesel into the car to escape, I could not even afford to buy her a card or present, relying on my mum to create a party. To make life bearable I would blame myself for his behaviour, he made me feel so degraded.”
The only place she could escape to was her mother’s home and she was greeted with open arms.
She said “I was embarrassed and ashamed for the failure I had become.
“They lent me money for rent of a bungalow, food, new uniform for my daughter, bed clothes and a few toys so she felt comfortable, and clothes for myself as I could only grab a small bag of belongings before we escaped.
“For the first six months, I did not realise what I was doing, all I know is I did not want to be back in the violent and abusive place I desperately wanted to call home.”
Kelda said she still suffers from nightmares and flashbacks since leaving Lapsley and is still getting extensive work on her teeth as they were damaged during the attack.
Ms Morgan is critical of the courts system saying she was not kept informed of the court case which dragged on for five years.
She only heard her case had gone ahead at Letterkenny District Court this week after a friend read a report online and sent it to her.
“I wasn’t even invited to attend court which I found very strange considering I was the victim,” she said.
A victim impact statement and a medical report of her injuries along with photos were handed into Judge Eiteain Cunningham as part of the evidence at the court hearing in which Lapsley had pleaded guilty to a Section 3 assault which is one of assault causing harm.
During the case, Lapsley’s solicitor Donough Cleary suggested his client’s reaction having been told by his partner that the other relationship was over was understandable.
However, Judge Cunningham said the reaction was not understandable and that in her view it was not in any way acceptable to “resort to physical violence.”
Kelda added “Throughout this whole ordeal, I felt I had to prove I wasn’t in the wrong.
“It was always me who was looking for information about the case. I had to keep calling Letterkenny Garda station which I was uncomfortable with as I know how busy they are.”
As well as the enormous help from family and friends, Kelda sought professional help in the form of psychotherapist, Sue Tierney.
“With Sue, I started to realise that I was a person with my own mind,” said Kelda.
Despite her troubled journey, Kelda and her daughter have found happiness and a new life.
She revealed “I married the Frenchman; he is incredibly kind, and we have so much fun… he is just normal.
“Most importantly my daughter is happy with a stable home life with a positive male influence and we don’t have to live in fear anymore.”
