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A murder accused told gardaí that he went home for dinner and fell asleep in front of his TV after beating a woman he previously had a sexual encounter with to death with a hammer, his trial has heard.
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 jury has heard evidence that Ms Shortall told the accused she was pregnant with his child and wanted money for an abortion, but a pathologists report showed she was not pregnant.
Det Sgt Fergus O’Brien told Paul Greene SC, prosecuting, that he interviewed Mr Webster at Wicklow Garda station on April 7th, 2015. During the interview he said he hit Ms Shortall on the head with a hammer “three or four times” after she threatened to tell his wife about their sexual encounter.
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The accused said he felt like he was having an out of body experience but once it was done “it was like I was back in my own skin”.
‘Back to normal’
He said he drove to a Centra shop, called his wife, returned home, had a cup of coffee, ate dinner and fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV.
“It was like everything was back to normal, like I was myself again,” he said.
He told gardaí he met Ms Shortall in Wicklow Town and she got into his van. She told him she was pregnant from the sexual encounter they had the previous Christmas and wanted £6,500 to travel to England for an abortion. She refused to provide proof that she was pregnant but insisted it was true.
Mr Webster said Ms Shortall “started to go off” and threatened to ring his wife and his house, saying she was going to “blow the lid” if he did not give her the money.
He said he pleaded with her not to “ruin” his life with his wife and child and that “I could see my whole world coming down”.
Mr Webster had, by then, stepped out of the van and was standing beside Ms Shortall at the passenger door. He said he wanted to reason with her but then opened the van door open and took the first thing he saw, a hammer. “I hit her a belt with the hammer and she fell back in the van.”
He told gardaí that she was still conscious and said to him: “You fucking prick. I will fucking ruin you”.
He said he hit her four or five times which he said was like “watching a horror movie” and he was “petrified” afterwards.
‘Flailing around’
Mr Webster said he taped up Ms Shortall’s head in an attempt to stop the bleeding as well as her hands “to stop her flailing around” when placed in the back of his van. He recalled driving to a nearby Centra “on autopilot” before phoning his wife and returning home. He then ate, spent time with his family, watched TV and fell asleep on the couch.
“It was like I blanked it,” he said.
Mr Webster went to Arklow with his wife to do some shopping the next day and later went to get something from his van and saw Ms Shortall’s body and thought “I will have to get her out”.
He told gardaí he put the body in his workshop and was surprised her remains went so stiff so quickly.
He told gardaí that the next day, Easter Sunday, he had a “pyjama day”.
Gardaí asked Mr Webster if he knew Ms Shortall was going to die in his van and he said: “I’m not a doctor”.
When asked why he had killed Ms Shortall, Mr Webster said he “hit her because she was threatening my family and my livelihood”.
When told that Ms Shortall was not in fact pregnant, Mr Webster said: “I fucking knew it.”
The trial continues .