THE MAN jointly charged with his partner of the neglect and unlawful killing of bedridden woman Evelyn Joel (59) told gardaí they were “out of our depth” and could not cope with caring for her, their trial in Wexford heard yesterday.
Jonathan Costen (39), Cluain Dara estate, Enniscorthy, and his partner Eleanor Joel (37), daughter of Evelyn, are pleading not guilty.
Det Garda Martin Broaders interviewed Mr Costen on the day of his arrest in 2006.
Det Broaders told Philip Sheahan, prosecuting, that he was in a patrol car with another detective on January 30th, 2006, when his colleague took a statement from Mr Costen, which the defendant agreed was correct and had signed.
The jury was shown video footage of interviews with Mr Costen.
He told gardaí Ms Joel was a “hard woman to mind” as she had MS and did not want to be helped. He said he felt he and Eleanor were not getting “outside help” to care for her and he was going mad because of this.
In a statement on January 12th, 2006, Mr Costen told Det Garda John Dwyer that he had been living at the house for two years.
He met Evelyn Joel four years previously. He understood that Ms Joel married her husband, Alfred Joel, and lived with him, but when he got cancer he told her he did not want to live with her any more as she was a heavy smoker.
“Nobody else would take Evelyn in so we took her into our house,” he said.
He said she had been living at the house for 13 to 14 months.
Describing her as very independent, he said hearrived home one day to find Ms Joel on the floor, saying Eleanor could not help her as she wasn’t “let”.
He said she had sores, but only she could apply cream on them. He said she was refusing to eat and that Eleanor tried to spoon-feed her, but she would not take it.
“I felt we were out of our depth,” he told gardaí. “It felt like the world was falling in” on the family. The trial continues.