A young woman has told a murder trial jury that she saw the accused stab her 19-year-old sister to death outside a supermarket in Co Meath.
Shona McLoughlin (18) denied that her older sister, Emma, was frequently a violent person but agreed she made a statement to gardaí describing how her sister had kicked her unconscious and broken her jaw in a fight over a mobile phone.
Ms McLoughlin was giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court on day three of the trial of Kelly Noble (21), who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Emma McLoughlin outside Pat's supermarket in Laytown on June 2nd last year.
Ms Noble, from Seaview in Laytown, also denies a second charge of unlawfully producing a knife in the course of a dispute or a fight, in a manner likely to intimidate or inflict serious injury.
Ms McLoughlin told prosecuting counsel Anthony Sammon SC she had been drinking with Emma on the afternoon of June 2nd and had gone to the supermarket that evening because her friend wanted to buy a drink and some crisps. Inside the shop she said she saw Ms Noble, who was getting her shopping, and had her little boy in a buggy.
Ms Noble and her sister began rowing. "They were rowing for a while and Emma was saying why did you hit me in the train station. Then Emma hit Kelly and Kelly pushed her."
She said she was outside the shop when Ms Noble came out and the rowing began again. "She was saying to Emma 'hit me' and she said no, she didn't want to fight anymore. She rang my da and said we were going home."
She said Ms Noble's friend, Niamh Cullen, then arrived with the young daughter of the accused. Her sister and Ms Noble were standing two to three feet apart. "I seen Emma get stabbed. I seen Kelly stabbing Emma like that." She brought her right hand up and down to show the jury.