Dead man’s partner denies she knew body was in wardrobe

The partner of a man whose body was found in a wardrobe days after he was killed has agreed that gardaí originally suspected her of concealing the remains of the deceased.

Giving evidence under cross-examination at the Central Criminal Court, Barbara Staunton agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that she had been suspected of concealing the body but had never been charged with such an offence.

She denied she had known Christopher Jackson’s body was in their bedroom wardrobe.

She said she thought the body had been put outside but did have a “feeling” it was in the wardrobe. “I wanted to get clothes out of the wardrobe, but I couldn’t go near the wardrobe because the dog was sniffing around it,” she said.

Not guilty plea

Anthony Locke (38), with an address at Ramillies Road in Ballyfermot, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Jackson at his apartment on Prussia Street between September 6th and 7th, 2012.

Ms Staunton agreed her sister stayed in her bedroom overnight with a child, but said she thought the accused and his brother, Bernard, had put the body in the hall.

The trial continues with Ms Staunton’s evidence before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of six men and six women.