Александра Троценко

[Иностранка]

Hope for artist maimed in Dublin attack

A fundraising drive is underway in Ireland for a talented Russian artist who had her fingers cut off in an aggravated burglary in September 2009, the Irish Times reports.

James Kenny, of Finglas, Dublin, was given a 16-year jail term Tuesday after using knives to cut fingers from Alexandra Trotsenko’s hand “like a butcher,” having broken into her apartment.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard how Kenny (35) broke into the woman’s apartment wearing a balaclava mask, taking items belonging to Ms. Trotsenko before binding, gagging and later attacking his innocent victim.

After Ms. Trotsenko played dead, she slipped into unconsciousness. When she awoke, she made her way to a nearby hotel, where she again collapsed and emergency services were called. As well as the injuries to her hand, she had suffered three large lacerations to her face and stab wounds in her neck, abdomen and chest.

With the artist now unable to hold a pencil with her right hand having lost her ring finger and pieces of other fingers, the Irish people are rallying to see that a prosthesis be found for her which could perhaps be covered by the public health service, or will otherwise cost up to 10,000 euro.

Speaking after the case, Ms. Trotsenko, who is married to an Irishman and has lived in Ireland since 2006, said she hopes to return to work in the future.

“When I get prosthesis I will come back to graphics,” said the illustrator of children’s books, whose work had been displayed in St. Stephen’s Green in 2006 to critical acclaim.

An Art for Alexandra art auction will be held on November 27, 2011with talk show host Ryan Tubridy even donating the famous annual Late Late Toy Show Christmas jumper to the sell-off.

Ms. Trotsenko’s attacker Kenny told gardai he had no reason to carry out such a brutal attack, but had merely wanted money to feed a painkiller addiction.