A London jury yesterday watched CCTV footage of a man accused of murder withdrawing cash from the victim's bank account and then arriving at Dublin airport to catch a flight to London on the day she was killed.
The jury at the Inner London Crown Court also watched earlier footage of Christopher Newman (63) gambling at a Dublin casino between 3.30am and 4am while simultaneously making calls to Georgina Eager (28) on the morning she was stabbed to death.
Mr Newman, who was known in Dublin as Prof Saph Dean, denies the murder of Ms Eager, Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, in May 2003.
Her body was found with multiple stab wounds in the bedroom of her flat on St Peter's Road, Walkinstown, next door to the alternative therapies clinic where she worked for Mr Newman. The two had been having a personal relationship, the court has been told.
The jury had already heard about calls made between Mr Newman's mobile phone and Ms Eager's mobile while he was gambling in the 78 Club casino in the early hours of May 22nd.
The phone records show that Ms Eager, who had earlier spoken to her family by phone in a distressed state, was travelling south while the calls were being made. When close to her family home, however, she turned around and went back to Walkinstown.
She was killed probably between 5am and 9.30am.
The CCTV footage viewed by the jury yesterday showed Mr Newman gambling at a casino table where, according to staff, he lost a substantial amount of money before leaving after 4am.
The next piece of footage showed him withdrawing cash from a Bank of Ireland ATM machine near the Walkinstown roundabout on noon of the same day, some hours after Ms Eager was killed. Prosecuting counsel Michael Birnbaum QC said Mr Newman used an AIB card belonging to Ms Eager to withdraw €500.
Mr Newman is then seen entering the bank where, Mr Birnbaum said, he withdrew a further €700 from one of Ms Eager's accounts. Other CCTV footage showed him arriving at Dublin airport at about 12.30pm, where he boarded a 1.15pm flight to London.
He was arrested that night in London after being spotted behaving erratically, while drinking champagne, in a taxi cab.
Police there phoned Ms Eager's mobile number, having found it stored on Mr Newman's phone. It was answered by gardaí who had just discovered Ms Eager's body.
Witnesses told the court yesterday about incidents they had observed on St Peter's Road about the time of Ms Eager's death.
James Gardiner said that while returning home from The Kestrel pub with his wife on the night before Georgina was killed, he passed the clinic and heard a man shouting in an angry voice.
He looked back to see that the man was shouting from a car towards the clinic. Andrew Smiler, barrister for Mr Newman, said the voice might have been one of anger mixed with concern, for example the voice of somebody who was angry at another person for attempting to drive while drunk.
Mr Gardiner said he would not have words put in his mouth. "I heard someone shouting in a very angry voice . . . There was no concern in it at all. I'm very sure of that."
Brona Young, who lived on St Peter's Road, said that at about 12.15am, 25 minutes after Mr Gardiner had passed, she saw Ms Eager standing on the road by a car.
The driver's side was open and "the doctor", as Mr Newman was known locally, was sitting inside. She could not hear what was being said, but she had the impression that Ms Eager was trying to get Mr Newman to get out of the car.
Lisa O'Brien said she worked at the clinic for the two weeks before Ms Eager was killed. She was not getting paid but was given free courses in reflexology and holistic massage, which were given jointly by Mr Newman and Ms Eager. She found Ms Eager to be pleasant and easy-going and a good teacher, but Mr Newman could be "arrogant" and "snappy".
It was clear that Ms Eager "really admired" Mr Newman. She had had the impression the two were having a relationship.