Wicklow murder accused broke down when confronted by wife

A man accused of murdering a woman he had a sexual encounter with broke down and told gardaí he beat her to death after being confronted by his wife.

Roy Webster (40), from Ashbree, Ashford, Co Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Anne Shortall (47) on April 3rd, 2015 at the Murrough, Co Wicklow. His plea was not accepted by the State.

The prosecution’s case is that Ms Shortall was beaten to death with a hammer after she told Mr Webster she was pregnant and threatened to reveal the sexual encounter they had had four months earlier.

On Friday, the Central Criminal Court heard from Det Garda Owen Martin, who told prosecuting counsel Paul Greene SC that Mr Webster first gave a formal statement to gardaí on April 6th, three days after Ms Shortall went missing.

Mr Webster had been linked to her by text messages found on her mobile phone which she had left in her home.

Det Garda Martin said Mr Webster had told him that the previous Christmas he was out with a few friends for drinks and met Ms Shortall, who he ended up kissing.

Some time later he received a phone call from her in the early hours in which she said: “Check your Facebook page”.

Mr Webster called her the following morning but got no response. However, they later started exchanging text messages.

‘Bad news’

In one text, Ms Shortall told him: “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I’m pregnant.”

Mr Webster told gardaí he did not believe her because he had consumed so much alcohol on the night of their encounter that he did not ejaculate. The court heard the accused asked to see a pregnancy test but Ms Shortall refused.

He told gardaí he arranged to meet Ms Shortall on the afternoon of Good Friday at the Leitrim Pub in Wicklow town. She got into his van and he told her he wanted proof that he was the father.

She told him she was going to England for an abortion. He said the last time he saw her was when he let her out of his van and she walked back towards Wicklow town.

The following day Det Sgt Fergus O’Brien received a call from Mr Webster to say he had told his wife about the “fling”.

He confirmed he had had sex with Ms Shortall on December 20th and she had asked him for €6,500 for an abortion. He said his wife calculated she would be about 15 weeks pregnant and an abortion at that stage would cost €700, not including flights.

Det Sgt O’Brien told Mr Greene he went to Mr Webster’s home on April 7th, four days after Ms Shortall went missing. When he arrived Mr Webster’s wife, Sinead, asked him why her husband had been linked to Ms Shortall’s disappearance on social media.

The court heard she asked her husband if he had “anything to say” or if he had hurt Ms Shortall. Det Sgt O’Brien said Mr Webster’s head went down and he started to cry.

“He said he had hurt her,” Det Sgt O’Brien told the court.

Det Sgt O’Brien cautioned Mr Webster before his wife continued to question him, asking: “Did you hit her Roy?”

The detective told the court that Mr Webster said: “I did.”

Sobbing

Mr Webster then began sobbing heavily.

When Mr Webster calmed down he gave a full statement. “She had me under so much pressure,” he said. “She was just threatening and threatening.”

During the meeting with Ms Shortall, Mr Webster said, he got out of the van, opened the side door and grabbed the first thing he could find, a hammer. He said he hit her and it was a “mistake that is after ruining so many lives”.

He kept her body in the van that Friday and then moved it to the workshop the following day.

He then took gardaí to the workshop and opened the door to where the body lay. Det Sgt O’Brien said he saw a pair of hands wrapped in silver duct tape. He walked out and called for crime scene investigators to take over. He then arrested Mr Webster on suspicion of the murder of Ms Shortall.

The trial continues.