Charleen Murphy’s footballer boyfriend Dano Mandroiu has broken his silence on social media, after his girlfriend was allegedly subject to a “vicious attack” on Friday night.
Craig O’Brien, 27, was arrested and charged with assault causing harm to the social media star, after he allegedly punched her in the back of the head at a hotel in Dublin.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday afternoon, the Lincoln City player showed his support for Charleen by posting a black and white photo of them holding hands.
He simply captioned the post with a heart emoji.
The alleged incident occurred on Friday night after Charleen, who has a following of 188k on Instagram and 145k on TikTok, posted her location on social media.
According to a court report, Mr O’Brien was remanded in custody by Judge Paula Murphy when he appeared at Dublin District Court on Saturday.
During the hearing, Garda Stephen McDonnell objected to bail as he stressed the seriousness of the alleged incident.
The court heard that the man was “someone known to her and her friend through personal online abuse on various social media accounts”.
It was alleged the accused entered the hotel and paid for a drink at 9.30pm, before he attacked Charleen a minute later.
Mr O’Brien allegedly approached Charleen, who was having dinner with a friend, from behind and “punched her full force to the back of the head”.
The court heard how Charleen’s head rebounded off a glass in front of her, resulting in a two-inch laceration to the right side her face.
The social media star went to St James’s Hospital where she received stitches, and left A&E at 5am.
Charleen said she and her friend recognised him from “previous online abuse”, and it’s alleged he sent her a voice message on social media after the incident saying, “How’s the head?”
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On Saturday, Charleen appeared in court to give evidence at the bail hearing.
The court heard that she had previously blocked the accused on social media, but he allegedly continued to create fake accounts to contact her.
Following the incident, Gardaà searched the residence of the accused, and seized clothing as evidence.
Mr O’Brien later came to Pearse Street Garda station to be interviewed, and Garda McDonnell maintained that the accused indicated that he intended to leave the country.
During the hearing, the defence pleaded with the court to grant bail with conditions including a social media ban.
His solicitor argued that he presented himself at a Garda station, which was not indicative of someone who would evade justice, and pointed out that he’s currently looking after his mother and receiving a €200 a week carer’s allowance.
The judge was also told that the accused, who has not yet indicted a plea, suffered from anxiety and depression.
In her ruling, Judge Murphy refused bail, but stressed that this was not the hearing of the case, and the accused had the presumption of innocence.
Mr O’Brien was remanded in custody, and ordered to appear at Cloverhill District Court on February 17.
