Natalia Karaczyn’s husband sent a text asking ‘Where are you?’, murder trial told

Natalia Karaczyn’s husband sent a text to her phone asking “Where are you?” almost two hours after CCTV footage recorded her returning to their home, his murder trial has heard.

The jury in the Central Criminal Court trial on Monday heard evidence that CCTV footage shows Natalia walking through the front door of her home at 6.23am following a night out and hours before her husband claimed she never came home.

Evidence that footage shows Mr Karaczyn driving a silver Peugeot up the side of his and Natalia’s home at 7.51am, before he eventually drove off at 8.13am and returned at 8.57am that same morning, has also been heard by the jury.

Rafal Karaczyn (34), of Crozon Park, Sligo, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of his 30-year-old wife Natalia Karaczyn, at their family home in Crozon Park between April 29th, 2018 and May 1st, 2018.

The court has previously heard that on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018, Mr Karaczyn was in Ballymote Garda Station with Natalia’s sister Magda McMorrow when he told her that he killed Natalia. Ms McMorrow told Bernard Condon SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, that Mr Karaczyn said he strangled her after she came home from a night out.

He said he followed her into a box room in the house and asked where she’d been before she said it was none of his business, Ms McMorrow told the court. She said Mr Karaczyn said Natalia pushed him and slapped him and that he then strangled her. He said he lay down with her for 10 to 15 minutes afterwards, Ms McMorrow said.

Today, the jury saw CCTV footage of Natalia returning home from a night out at 6.23am on the morning of Sunday, April 29th, 2018. It also saw CCTV footage of Gvido Ozols walking with her towards her home before he turned back to go back to his own home in Knocknaganny Park.

Earlier, Mr Ozols told the jury that he and Natalia walked to his house after they met in The Garyvogue Bar in Sligo town and, after they were there for about two hours, he walked Natalia within 20 metres of her home after 6am that same morning.

Garda Mark Irwin, of Sligo Garda Station, told Dara Foynes SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, that he compiled a disc of CCTV material for the investigation. He confirmed Mr Karaczyn sent a text to Natalia’s phone at 8.13am on April 29th, 2018, in which he said: “Where are you?”

Garda Irwin told Ms Foynes that Mr Karaczyn could be seen getting into the driver’s seat of a silver Peugeot in the driveway of his home at the point at which he sent this text.

The court saw CCTV footage from various locations showing the movements of Mr Karaczyn and the silver Peugeot on the morning of Sunday, April 29th, 2018.

The court also heard that at 9.05am, Mr Karaczyn texted Ms McMorrow asking if she knew where Natalia was as he claimed she hadn’t come home that Saturday night.

The court also heard from the two friends that Natalia went to the cinema and The Garyvogue Bar with on the Saturday night.

Elwira Sobel said she left The Garyvogue Bar just before 3am. Shortly before she left, she saw Natalia and Mr Ozols kissing, she said.

Ms Sobel said she sent a Viber text message to Natalia that she was going home and the next morning she texted Natalia a second message asking how she was. Ms Sobel said that on Sunday morning she could see Natalia had seen her first message but did not reply. She said her second message to Natalia had not been seen. Ms Sobel told Mr Condon that Natalia would ordinarily always reply to her messages.

Ms Sobel also confirmed to Mr Condon that, at around 9.31am on Sunday, April 29th, 2018, she got a Facebook message from Mr Karaczyn in which he said, “She’s [Natalia] not at home. I don’t know what’s going on”.

Aneta Cieciwa, who was with Natalia and Ms Sobel that night, told the court that on the morning of Sunday, April 29th, 2018 she received messages from Mr Karaczyn in which he asked: “Hey, do you know where Natalia is?” and “She’s not at home and nobody knows anything.”

The trial continues before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury of seven women and five men.