A MAN HAS been sentenced to 90 years for attacking an Irish woman in Chicago, leaving her with brain injuries.

Heriberto Viramontes was convicted of a total of 10 counts after he attacked Armagh native Natasha McShane in 2010.

McShane was left with extensive brain injuries and speech problems after being attacked with a baseball bat. Her friend Stacy Jurich was also attacked on the night.

Court reporters said that Viramontes has been sentenced to 90 years in prison – 25 years for two counts of attempted murder, and 20 years each for the counts of armed robbery.

Chicago court

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a victim impact statement was read out by McShane’s mother in court today. She said the incident was “a [parent's] worst nightmare and one that will never go away”.

McShane can walk within the family home without a wheelchair, can “string three or four words” together, and has a team of 10 people caring for her over 24 hours, Rummana Hussain of the Chicago Sun-Times reported from the court.

Members of Viramontes’ family have also been speaking in court, with his niece saying that his family are in pain, said Hussain.

The ‘lucky one’

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Jurich described herself as “the lucky one”.

She was walking to her apartment with McShane at about 3am when they were attacked and their purses stolen.

Jurich has seizures, speech problems and partial paralysis due to the head injuries she sustained in the attack. She spent three months learning to walk.

Prosecutor John Maher said that the guilty verdict in the case was in part a credit to Jurich, who was able to give information to the police following the attack, said the Chicago Tribune.

Read: Man found guilty of attempted murder of Natasha McShane>