Woman got knife and ‘stuck it in’ partner during fight

A woman accused of murder told gardaí she got a knife and “stuck it in” her partner during a physical fight, a jury has heard.

Paula Farrell, aged 42, with an address at Rathmullen Park, Drogheda, Co Louth, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering her partner, Wayne McQuillan, aged 30, at her home on January 1, 2014.

Gerard Clarke, prosecuting, yesterday told the jury they would hear four interviews with Ms Farrell in Drogheda Garda Station on January 1 and 2, 2014.

He read Ms Farrell and Mr McQuillan started “bitching” on New Year’s Eve over “something stupid” after a lot of alcohol was consumed.

“That night the two of us started fighting, the two of us were on a chair standing up and he knocked me over. He was getting the better of me on the couch and I went over to the kitchen sink and got a knife and stuck it in him. I don’t remember taking a knife out of the block of knives but I remember sticking it in him.”

When Ms Farrell was asked to describe the blade of the knife at the time of questioning by the gardaí, Mr Clarke read: “It had teeth; I stabbed him twice, under his shoulder and to the front of the chest.”

In another interview, the jury heard there was blood all over Ms Farrell’s hands so she spent a few minutes washing them instead of calling an ambulance for her partner. “ It took me a few minutes to wash my hands as I had to really scrub them.”