Murder accused said 'he would kill' wife, court hears

A Donegal father-of-four accused of the murder of his estranged wife allegedly told her mother in the months before hand that "if he had his way he would f***ing kill her", the Central Criminal Court has heard.

Mrs Kathleen McGrory was giving evidence in the trial of her son-in-law Mr Gary McCrea (aged 40) of Ballybulgin, Laghy, Co. Donegal, who denies the murder of Dolores McCrea (aged 39) of Ballintra, Co Donegal, on a date unknown between January 20 and January 22, 2004. It is alleged that Mr McCrea murdered his wife and the mother of his four children and then burned her body.

Mrs McGrory told prosecuting counsel, Mr Paul O’Higgins SC, that her daughter’s marriage broke up in August 2003 and Dolores moved out of the family home with her four young daughters who were then aged 18, 14, seven and five.

The deceased’s mother said the accused rang her on one occasion in August 2003 and said Dolores "wasn’t a fit mother". "If he had his way he would f***ing kill her and that he would stab her", the court heard.

The eldest daughter of the deceased woman, 19-year-old Sharon McCrea, told the jury she moved out of the family home in April 2003 with her mother and sisters.

Her mother, she said, worked in a local pub in Ballintra.

Sharon McCrea said things weren’t good between her parents. Initially her mother, she said, had full custody of the three younger children with her father having access to them on a Saturday.

"He wasn’t happy with mum getting full custody", she said.

Sharon McCrea said her father was later granted joint custody of the children.

She said her mother was offered €20,000 as a settlement from her father for the house which she hadn’t agreed to accept.

Sharon McCrea said she had not seen her father over Christmas in 2003 and only saw him within a few days of her mother’s disappearance. He called up their home in Ballintra while she was minding the younger children. Sharon McCrea claims that her father asked her to "speak to the health board". The 19-year-old told the court that she was upset by this conversation with her father.

Sharon McCrea said she last saw her mother alive when Dolores McCrea left to go to Donegal to play a game of darts at 7.25pm on January 20, 2004.

The sister of the deceased woman, Carmel McGrory said she received a phone call from her niece, Sharon McCrea at 10am on January 21, who was worried about her mother as she hadn’t come home.

Before midday, Carmel McGrory arrived at her niece’s home and the two of them began to search for Dolores. They rang friends of Dolores and drove around the local area to see if they could find the mother-of-four.

Carmel McGrory told the court that her niece rang one of the women on her sister’s darts team who confirmed that Dolores had not turned up at the match the night before.

The court heard that they decided to drive to the old family home in Ballybulgin as Dolores had said she was going to call into her estranged husband on the evening of January 20 to sell him her red Peugot 306.

Carmel McGrory told the court that the accused told his daughter not to worry.

"He said, she (Dolores) was probably ‘whoring around’ with somebody", the jury heard.

"I put my hands up and said: ‘I don’t want to get involved in any family matters but there is her (Dolores) car", said Carmel McGrory.

She then added that she asked Mr McCrea how did her sister get to darts in Donegal town. He said she took a lift from a car coming up the road, Ms McGrory added.

"After we left Ballybulgin, I rang mammy and said I felt there was something wrong," Carmel McGrory told the jury. At 5.30pm on January 21, 2004, Carmel McGrory rang Ballyshannon Garda station to report her sister missing.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Michael Hanna.