A Dublin man on trial for the murder of his wife has told a jury he did not know she had a boyfriend and had no idea she was planning to make significant changes to separation terms they had previously agreed.
The court has heard that Mrs Geraldine Diver had started a relationship with a 27-year-old supermarket employee and was in the process of preparing a separation agreement when she was killed four years ago.
Mr John Diver (60) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, Geraldine (42), who was found strangled in her car outside Buckley's builders' providers on Robinhood Road, Clondalkin, on December 2nd, 1996. The couple had lived at Kilnamanagh Road, Walkinstown, Dublin.
As he was being cross-examined by Mr Edward Comyn SC in the Central Criminal Court trial, Mr Diver accused gardai of making "a cock-up" of the investigation and continued making allegations against individual gardai about his detention in Lucan Garda station in December 1996. Detectives have denied the allegations. Mr Comyn had asked the accused to explain why, when police came to his house after the killing, he had turned to a Garda inspector and asked him three times, "Who are you?"
"Well, I never met the man in my life before, and I think I had every right to ask him who he was," Mr Diver said.
He denied he knew that his wife planned to change the first verbal separation agreement made between them. In that agreement, Geraldine Diver agreed that the children could stay with their father in the family home while she would leave. She also agreed that she would get £10,000 and keep her car.
In a changed draft agreement read to the court, Geraldine Diver wanted to take the children with her, and the house to be sold and the proceeds divided between herself and her husband.
Mr Diver said he only knew of the first verbal agreement. The trial continues on Monday.