Dublin man told gardaí he strangled his girlfriend during row

A Dublin man on trial for the murder of his 17 year-old girlfriend told gardaí he strangled her during a row after the couple had taken the drug Rohypnol and smoked hash.

At the Central Criminal Court today Det Gda Thomas Roche was continuing his evidence on the second day of the trial of Mr Phillip Reddin, (aged 24), originally from Donamore Park, Tallaght, Dublin and now of no fixed abode.

Mr Reddin has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Niamh Murphy, who was originally from Galway at a house in Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge on May 10, 2002.

Det Gda Roche told Mr Paul O’Higgins SC for the prosecution that when in custody following his arrest, the accused man told him he wanted "to tell the truth" about Niamh Murphy’s death. The teenage girl was strangled and had her throat cut with a garden shears in an upstairs room of a derelict house where she had been squatting for some months with Mr Reddin.

"The truth is Niamh and I woke up that morning, we’d taken a couple of Rohypnol tablets and had a couple of joints," the accused said in his statement.

"We watched TV for a while and then Niamh just snapped," he continued. He said the argument was over a former girlfriend of his and Reddin said "I told her if I wanted to be with Joanne I could have the other night".

He said the deceased started to hit him with bottles and he showed gardaí a cut he received to his shoulder.

"She also hit me on the hand, that’s when I strangled her to stop her shouting and hitting me," he said.

"I grabbed her neck and I kept on choking her and before I knew it she was blue in the face". He said he panicked and picked up the garden shears "because he knew everyone’s prints were on it". "I drew it across her neck, then panicked…and ran outside to call the gardaí."

He continued to say he was sorry for what he had done. "I accept the consequences, I am wholly sorry and remorseful for it".

The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Carney and a jury.