Accused man recalls finding wife's body
A murder accused told gardai that his children ran out of their mother's bedroom after he discovered her dead body at the foot of the bed, a trial in the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.
Mr Paul O'Donohoe, a Dublin book-keeper, said that his wife's face had turned yellow.
He said that he had weekend custody of the children and was returning them to their mother when he discovered her body. He immediately rang for an ambulance and gardai and waited for them to arrive.
Garda Colin O'Hanlon told the court he arrived at the house soon afterwards and found Mr O'Donohoe "calm and collected".
Garda O'Hanlon said he checked the back door of the house and found no signs of a break-in.
The dead woman's next-door neighbour said Mr O'Donohoe looked very shocked and told her that someone had broken into the house.
It was the second day of the trial of Mr O'Donohoe (44), of Aberdeen Street, Dublin, who denies the murder or manslaughter of his 42-yearold estranged wife, Miriam, at her home in Ashfield Gardens, Mulhuddart, on January 25th, 1997.
Prosecutors allege that Mr O'Donohoe strangled his wife and tried to make it appear as if a burglar had killed her.
The case continues.