Joe O'Reilly apologised to a garda for destroying forensic evidence around his wife's dead body, the jury heard today.
Mr O'Reilly (35) of Lambay View, Baldarragh, The Naul, Co Dublin has pleaded not guilty to murdering Rachel O'Reilly, his 30 year-old wife and mother of their two children at the family home on October 4th 2004.
Paradmedics and gardai were giving evidence of arriving at the murder scene where they found the body with a severe head injury lying facedown in a pool of blood.
They also described multiple blood splatterings on the walls, doorframe, and in the hallway. Gda Thomas Cleary told prosecuting counsel, Mr Dominic McGinn BL, that he was among the first group of gardai to arrive at the scene at 2.45pm.
He said the kitchen was in a messy state, with chairs and drawers pulled out. When he entered, family members were already in the house, along with a number of emergency services personnel and he therefore asked everyone present to leave so that evidence would not be destroyed.
When outside, he said Mr O'Reilly told him he arrived at the scene at 2.20pm and that he had moved a large box of books which had been beside the body. He claimed Mr O'Reilly told him he had made contact with the body.
He added: "He said I'm really sorry. I'm probably after ruining it on you." Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Mr Patrick Gageby SC, Gda Cleary denied that after he'd made everyone leave the scene, Mr O'Reilly asked him if he could he go back inside to get his jacket.
Det Gda Damien O'Connell, gave evidence that when members of a garda search team arrived at the house on October 9th, the accused told them they should look in the room adjoining the bedroom in which his wife had been found dead.
He said Mr O'Reilly told him he had dumbbells in that room and that one of them could have been used as the murder weapon.