CCTV shows murder accused walking towards pensioner’s home, court hears

A man accused of murdering a pensioner whose body was not discovered until five days after her death can be seen on CCTV footage walking in the direction of the woman’s house on the night she was killed, a trial has heard.

Trevor Rowe (29), with an address at Abbey Street, Kilkenny has pleaded not guilty to murdering 71-year-old Ann Butler at her home at Maudlin Street, Kilkenny on March 20th, 2020.

The trial has heard that Mr Rowe told a detective that he had committed “five other murders”, was working for the Kinahan Cartel and received €5,500 “for doing a murder”.

Garda Daniel Keane told John O’Kelly SC, prosecuting, that the jury would see a montage of CCTV footage of Ms Butler’s movements from the night of March 20th.

One of the clips shows Ms Butler coming back from the direction of Wolfe Tone Street at 9.27pm. The last clip shows the pensioner heading in the direction of her home on Maudlin Street at 9.30pm.

Garda Keane then showed the jury a montage of CCTV footage of Mr Rowe’s movements on the night of March 20th. In the first clip, Mr Rowe can be seen leaving Abbey Street and walking onto Parliament Street at 9.33pm. In another clip at 9.40pm, the accused can be seen walking around a library on John’s Quay and carrying a bag.

At 9.49pm, the witness said Mr Rowe can be seen walking “in the direction of [the deceased’s home on] Maudlin Street”.

An hour later at 10.47pm, the accused can be seen walking in the opposite direction up Maudlin Street and in the direction of John Street. The CCTV footage, the garda said, showed the defendant walking “away from [the deceased’s home on] Maudlin Street”.

In another clip at 10.49pm, the accused can be seen carrying a bag and appeared to be wearing gloves, said the witness.

‘Very worried’

At 10.55pm, Mr Rowe can be seen walking through Market Yard car park on Bateman’s Quay and falling down on the ground. The accused can be seen walking down Parliament Street in the direction of Abbey Street at 11pm.

Also giving evidence on Friday, the deceased's sister Margo Neary said she was three years older than Ms Butler and that they had lived in Kilkenny all their lives. Ms Neary said she and Ann were close and would regularly meet up.

The last time Ms Neary saw or heard from her sister was on the evening of March 20th, when Ann called to her house on Wolfe Tone Street to give her some fruit. The distance from Ms Neary’s house to her sister’s address was less than a 10 minute walk.

Ms Neary also agreed that she had no contact with her sister between March 20th and 25th. “I got very worried about her on the 25th. I mentioned to my husband Paddy that I’d drop down, she was very much on my mind,” she said.

The witness said her husband called to Ann’s house twice on March 25th ut did not get an answer on either occasion. Ms Neary said she called to her sister’s house three times on the same day but also got no response. A few hours later Ms Neary was contacted by gardaí.

Detective Sergeant James O’Brien has told the trial he saw that the body of Ms Butler had lacerations to the neck, an injury to the head and her left ear appeared to be missing when he entered her home.

The jury has also been told that when gardaí called to the defendant’s home, he fell to his knees, cried and said: “I killed a woman. I murdered a woman. I slit her throat and stuck a knife in her head.”

He also told officers when he was sitting in the back of a patrol car that he “just wanted her to be found” and that he had “slit her throat and stabbed her in the head”.

The trial continues on Monday before Ms Justice Karen O’Connor and a jury of seven men and five women.