Murder accused admitted having sex with victim twice

A man who denies murdering a 29-year-old Mayo woman in December 2000 admitted to a special team of Garda investigators more than six months later that he had sex with her twice, the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.

In a statement taken by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation on June 28, 2001, construction worker Martin Earley, of Banagher, Carrowmore Lacken, Ballina, explained he had been in a relationship with Sandra Collins, of Courthouse St, Killala, in the weeks before she vanished.

He said the last occasion they met was on December 1, 2000, when they had sex in Earley’s Hiace van. Ms Collins was last seen in Killala around 11pm on December 4, after visiting the local takeaway. Her body has never been found.