Murder-accused denies trying to get rid of shoes

A man charged with murdering a mother and her young daughter denied wanting to get rid of shoes he was wearing because they were covered in blood, his trial has heard.

The central criminal court, sitting in Tralee, Co Kerry, had previously been told Aurimas Andruska, had Deichmann shoes with soles that matched bloodied footprints found in the home of the victims.

However, in interviews with detectives following his arrest on June 27, 2013, he said he had borrowed two pairs of shoes the weekend the murders are believed to have occurred as his own were damaged and he was planning to go to a party.

Mr Andruska, aged 28, of Ardmoniel Heights, Killorglin, Co Kerry, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jolanta Lubiene, aged 27, and her daughter, Enrika, aged eight, at their rented home, No 9 Langford Downs, Killorglin, between June 14 and 16, last year.

On day 14 of the trial, gardaí gave evidence of making notes of a series of interviews with the accused at Killarney Garda station after his arrest on June 27.

When asked where the damaged shoes were, he said he did not know as he had “thrown them away a long time ago”.

Further questioned by detectives, he said the shoes might still be around and that he had put them into a plastic bag in the kitchen of the house he shared with two other men at Ardmoniel Heights.

In the interviews, the Lithuanian-born accused also repeatedly denied murdering Jolante and Enrika.

The court had previously been told the accused, a forestry worker, had visited Jolante’s home a number of times prior to the murders and had had sexual contact with her. He said he was in the house on either the Thursday or Friday, June 13 or 14, but was not there on Saturday, June 15. He also denied going back to the house on Saturday for sex.

Asked to explain how his fingerprint came to be found in blood in the house, he said his fingerprint could not be there in blood and later in the interview stated: “I am sure of one thing — I did not kill them.’’

He said he was not in the house on the Saturday and was not there when they were murdered.

When asked why his DNA had appeared on Enrika’s clothing, he denied ever touching her or having physical contact with her and said the child’s clothes may have been on the couch while he was in the house.

The trial continues before a jury.