THE VICTIM in a murder trial told her killer she wanted him out of her life weeks before she died, and he threatened to take her to court for access to their unborn child, the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Jean Teresa Quigley (30), a mother of four, died on July 26th, 2008 in Cornshell Fields, Shantallow, north Derry. A postmortem found she had been strangled and beaten.
Stephen Cahoon (37), a father of one, Harvey Street, Derry, admits killing her but has pleaded not guilty to her murder. He was charged under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act of 1976 and given the option of being tried in Dublin or Northern Ireland. He opted for Dublin and became the first person to be tried before a jury under the legislation.
The 1976 Act was brought in to allow trials in the Republic for offences outside the jurisdiction in Northern Ireland or Britain. It has rarely been used and up to now the only cases have been brought before the three-judge Special Criminal Court, which deals with terrorist offences.
Gerry Merrigan, former partner of Ms Quigley’s mother, Emma McBride, told the jury he and Ms McBride went to her daughter’s house a week or two before she died. He told Patrick Marrinan SC, prosecuting, that Ms Quigley was telling Cahoon to go and to return her keys. “I want you to leave. I want you out of my life,” she had said. “Jean was shaking and upset and wanted to go to her mother’s house,” he testified.
Mr Merrigan said a couple of days later he helped Ms Quigley to return two puppies, dog food and a power washer to Cahoon’s flat.
Ms Quigley’s 17-year-old babysitter said he heard the victim and defendant arguing about their unborn child days before the killing. The teenager, who cannot be named, said Ms Quigley returned home at 2.25am on Thursday, July 24th.
He said he was chatting to her when there was a knock. He answered the door and the defendant “walked straight on in”.
The teenager said Cahoon got himself a bottle of alco-pop from the fridge and while he was out of the room, Ms Quigley asked the teenager to stay until he left.
He said Cahoon kept asking her about some money he had given her and complaining she had left him stranded in town that day.
“She was on about moving house because she was pregnant and said she didn’t trust Stevie with a wee one,” he said. “He wanted to know where she was going. He said he wanted access to his child and would take her to court if necessary. Jean asked him to leave three or four times. He said he’d leave when he finished his drink,” he said.
Andrea Nichol, who grew up with Ms Quigley, said the victim visited her the day before the killing. “She was in happy form,” she recalled. She said while with her, Cahoon rang the victim five or six times. Ms Quigley’s best friend, Majella Cox, said she spoke to her every day. She said that changed when Ms Quigley started seeing Cahoon. Ms Quigley and Cahoon had been pleased when Ms Quigley told her she was pregnant, she said, and that she had cut down on her drinking.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of seven women and five men.