Ex-girlfriend of accused says he was never violent

A former girlfriend of alleged killer, Mr Trevor Stokes, a Co Kildare man, has insisted to a Darwin court he was never violent…

A former girlfriend of alleged killer, Mr Trevor Stokes, a Co Kildare man, has insisted to a Darwin court he was never violent.

Ms Ciara McGeary told the Supreme Court of her eight-year romance with Mr Stokes, who denies murdering Australian Mr Greg Bebensee after a drink binge in June last year.

She said: "He never had a reputation for being violent. I've never seen him in any confrontations. I've never seen him become violent under the influence of alcohol."

Ms Ciara McGeary, a treasury analyst in her 20s, said she met the accused in 1990. Mr Stokes (26), of Naas, was a student in Dundalk at the time. The pair lived together in New York for a year but split in 1998 after the defendant moved to Singapore. Ms Ciara McGeary, now living at Locklands, Cork, gave evidence via an international television link last Friday. The video was played to the jury yesterday.

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Two other witnesses testified from Ireland in the same manner. Mr Micheal Dempsey, a builder from East Town Neath, Co Kildare, said he employed Mr Trevor Stokes in 1990 and never saw him become violent after drinking. : "He never got in trouble in any way. He'd be well able to handle his drink," he added.

The trial continues in Darwin.