Man charged with wife’s murder
David Bourke, 48, was taken to Dublin District Court yesterday morning after being charged by gardaí on Wednesday evening.
His wife, Jean Gilbert, 46, died on Tuesday from stab wounds following an early morning disturbance at the family home in Castleknock, north Dublin.
The victim, who used her maiden name, had three children with her husband.
The children, Emily, 10, Alex, 7, and Harvey, 4, were in the house at the time.
Ms Gilbert was found collapsed in the kitchen of the house by emergency services. Ambulance crew, along with gardaí, arrived shortly before 11am, after Mr Bourke dialled 999.
Medical assistance was rendered at the scene and the victim was removed to James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown.
Despite the efforts of surgeons, Ms Gilbert lost her fight for life and was pronounced dead shortly after 3pm. A post mortem, conducted by state pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy, found that the victim died from multiple stab wounds.
Following her death, the Garda investigation, led by Detective Inspector Jody Crowe, was upgraded to a murder investigation.
Sergeant Liam Kelly of Blanchardstown Garda Station gave details of arrest, charge and caution to the court yesterday.
He said the accused was arrested at the scene just before 11am on Wednesday and taken to Blanchardstown Garda Station. The defendant was detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
Gardaí conducted consultations with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) during Wednesday.
Sgt Kelly said the accused was released from custody just before 5pm on Wednesday and re-arrested for the purposes of being charged. On the instruction of the DPP, Mr Bourke was charged on a single count of murder.
Sgt Kelly said the accused had nothing to say when charged. Mr Bourke was held overnight for the purposes of attending court.
Sgt Kelly applied for the defendant to be remanded in custody to Cloverhill and appear in court there next Thursday.
Solicitor for the accused consented to the application and said his client was applying for free legal aid.
Judge Derek McVeigh asked why and said the accused faced a serious charge. Counsel said Mr Bourke earned €600 a week and had three young children.
Judge McVeigh accepted the application and remanded the accused until September 6.
Mr Bourke, who is originally from Mullingar, sat during the brief hearing.
He wore brown trousers, a multi-coloured striped shirt with a bronze tie and had silver hair, neatly parted at the side.
