An assistant bank manager official broke down today as he told the Northern Bank trial how the gang that stole £26.5 million in 2004 threatened to murder his wife if he did not co-operate with them.
Kevin McMullan said he was repeatedly told they would "damage her beyond repair" and he believed absolutely they were capable of doing it.
He said the gang threatened: "Be under no illusion of what we are capable of. It makes no difference to us if we go down for 30 years for murder or 30 years for kidnapping.
"They made clear if the robbery did not go to plan, if they did not get away with it, they would kill Kyran."
The assistant manager in the cash centre at the Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast's Donegall Square, told Belfast Crown Court how a normal Sunday night shortly before Christmas 2004 turned into a nightmare when the gang struck at his isolated home outside Loughinisland, Co Down.
Men dressed as police officers gained entry to his house by telling him there had been a road accident involving a member of his family and he was needed to identify a body.
He said he reeled back from the front door to the living room and was suddenly grabbed from behind, had a gun put to his head and was forced to the ground.
He said he was grabbed again by the scruff of the neck and his jeans, dragged back into the hall, thrown against the walls and then trailed back into the living room.
He said there was a lot of shouting and demands to do what he was told or he would get hurt.
Mr McMullan's voice broke and he dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief as he recalled the threats to his wife.
"They told me if I didn't do exactly what they wanted, if it went wrong in any way, they would kill my wife," he said.
"It was said in a way that made me believe that they absolutely could do it and would do it. It was said in a way that was very, very aggressive and at the same time very cold.
"They said they would shoot her in the head. They used a phrase repeatedly through the night - that they would damage her beyond repair."
Mr Ward was a managerial key holder to the vaults at the cash centre the day of the robbery while a junior colleague, Chris Ward, was the supervisory key holder.
Mr Ward (26), of Colinmill, Poleglass, outside west Belfast, is the only person to have been charged in connection with the robbery.
He denies three charges of robbing the bank and of abducting Mr and Mrs McMullan.
The case was adjourned until tomorrow.