A Waterford man accused of murdering his wife has told a Central Criminal Court jury that he had no idea he would end up facing a murder investigation.
Bus driver John O'Brien (41) with an address in Ballinakill Downs, Co Waterford denies murdering 35-year-old Meg Walsh on a date between 1st October 2006 and 15 October 2006. The mother of one's body was recovered from the River Suir on October 15th 2006. She had died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Speaking in his own defence, Mr O'Brien told defence counsel Mr Paddy McCarthy SC he had taken "no hand, act or part" in his wife's murder.
He told prosecuting counsel Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC he hadn't told gardai any lies. "I didn't think it was going to come to this. I didn't know it was going to be a murder investigation."
He denied that that this was because he had not expected the body to be found. Mr O'Brien said he had been "about 45 or 50 minutes out" in his account of October 1st, when he said he last saw his wife. He said he had returned home at around 5 pm although it could have been closer to 6 pm and had heard Ms Walsh leave the house and drive off at around 8.30 pm.
Mr O'Brien rejected the suggestion that he had a motive to kill his wife. He said that he had been in the process of signing over the deeds of the house to her after he had assaulted her some days earlier. This move, he said, was "just to prove it would never happen again."
Mr Buckley told him that not only did he have a motive but he had an opportunity to murder her. "You did in fact murder your wife, Meg Walsh. You had an opportunity to kill her and a motive to kill her and you did it. You killed her." Mr O'Brien replied: "No I didn't."
The jury also heard from Ms Samantha Raincock, who told Mr McCarthy that the cells that picked up Mr O'Brien's call when he called his message service at 9.38 pm could have picked up his signal from the Waterford Castle turning
where he said he had been at the time.
She agreed with Mr Dominic McGinn BL, prosecuting, that the same masts also covered the Uluru car park where the prosecution claim Mr O'Brien was at the time.
The trial will continue in its final stages tomorrow before Mr Justice Barry White and the jury of seven men and five women when the prosecution and defence will make their closing speeches.