The jury in the trial of a married Co Wicklow man who is accused of beating a woman he had a one-night stand with to death with a hammer is to resume its deliberations on Thursday.
Roy Webster (40), of Ashbree, Ashford, Co Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to the murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Anne Shortall (47) at The Murrough, Co Wicklow on April 3rd, 2015. His plea was not accepted by the State.
It was the prosecution’s case that Mr Webster, who had a sexual encounter with Ms Shortall in December 2014, beat her to death with a hammer after she threatened to reveal the details of their fling to his wife.
Ms Shortall, who was in debt, had told Mr Webster she was pregnant and asked for £6,500 to pay for an abortion in England. He claimed that she refused to provide proof of her pregnancy and a pathology report later showed she was not pregnant.
The jury in the case on Wednesday asked to listen for a second time to a statement from Carmel Phibbs, a friend of the accused’s wife Sinéad, who met Mr Webster shortly after he had killed Ms Shortall.
Ms Phibbs, whose statement was read to the court on day six of the trial, was at the Webster home that afternoon and she told gardaí Mr Webster was acting “completely normal” when he arrived home.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy read her statement to the jury, which also asked to see a number of exhibits, including the hammer it is alleged Mr Webster used to beat Ms Shortall to death.
The seven women and four men went home at 4pm having considered their verdict for a total of three and a half hours. They will return to the Central Criminal Court on Thursday to continue their deliberations.
Unanimous
The judge has told them they must bring back a unanimous verdict as to whether Mr Webster is guilty of murder or of manslaughter.
In his closing statement, senior counsel Paul Greene, prosecuting, said a lot had come out about the background of Ms Shortall and that, at times, it may have been hard to tell who was on trial. She had not covered herself in glory but it was now the jury’s job to decide if it was his intention to kill her.
Mr Greene said the accused only began to claim he had lost control after he was arrested. He reminded the jury of evidence from State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy, who said that the tape around her head may have caused Ms Shortall to die from asphyxia, if she was not already dead.
‘Cold-blooded’
In his closing speech, Brendan Grehan SC, defending, told the jury his client’s actions show that he did not plan the attack and did nothing to cover up what he had done.
“This was not some cold-blooded killer. This was something that happened when someone lost control of himself.”
He said the accused man’s actions had a far-ranging impact, taking Ms Shortall from her family and taking Mr Webster from his.
Mr Webster’s own family, including his elderly parents, have sundered their relationship with him. “If ever it could be said that there is a case where there are no winners, only losers, this is it,” he added.
He asked the jury to consider what might happen if everything they held dear, their family and children, were being put at risk. It is a human frailty to do things that we later regret when pushed to breaking point, he said.
Going into the background of the relationship with Ms Shortall, Mr Grehan said Mr Webster had met her on a drunken night out the previous Christmas and betrayed his wife and his marriage vows with her. He said this was nothing unique and that afterwards Mr Webster had no intention of having an affair.