| Speaking from her Dalfield Court home a tearful and emotional Miss Farrell revealed to the Tele today how she feels about her attacker’s 12-year sentence.
“I didn’t think he would get as long as 12 years. I thought he would get between seven and ten years compared with other court cases I have seen.
“I’m never going to be able to put this behind me I’m reminded of it every time I look in the mirror. I have absolutely no confidence left and I hate going out of the house on my own.
“I need my partner Paul for moral support and he was away working for five weeks and I was stuck in the house all on my own because I was too scared to go out.
“I’ve had a lot of support from my family and many people have been asking me how I am since the trial started.”
Reliving the night of her attack Natalie said, “I thought Frank (Francis) was Paul’s cousin that night, that’s what he told me over the intercom. I left the door open for him to come in and he came bouncing in full of drink and sat down. He was asking for a place to stay.”
Describing the horrific attack she said, “When we were out on the veranda I thought he had pulled hair over my face and he was scratching me with it. I didn’t realise what he had done until I woke up in hospital with no eye.
“I remember him saying to me, ‘You’ll not be looking at me with both your eyes and you won’t be looking at any other men with both your eyes.’”
She spoke of how Paul and another friend helped her to escape by battering Murphy with a broom.
“If I had been on my own that night I’d have been dead,” she said.
Miss Farrell who has a son by Murphy, said her son knew about what had happened and he wasn’t taking it very well.
“He is living with Frank’s parents at the moment,” she explained.
She added that she no longer wished to live at Dalfield Court.
“This house is too much of a reminder and I want to get out as quickly as possible.”
Miss Farrell’s partner Paul Stanton said he thought Murphy would be given between 10 and 12 years.
“He’ll probably be out in about eight,” he added.
“Natalie is terrified to go out now and she’s not had any real psychological help for what she’s been going through. This is because there has never been a case like this before and they don’t know how to help her.
“If I had known he was going to do what he did to Natalie I would never have left her alone that night. I regret being in the other room when he burst in.” |
