Witness places accused at murder scene

The nephew of a Jamaican woman allegedly beaten to death with a lump hammer by her Nigerian husband has said the accused was in the Dublin apartment where her body was found on the day she died.

Steaveroy Steer was giving evidence today at the Central Criminal Court on day 10 of the trial of Goodwill Udechukwu (aged 32) with a previous address at Royal Canal View, Royal Canal Bank, Phibsboro who denies murdering Natasha Gray (aged 25) at the same address on Tuesday February 18, 2003.

The body of the mother-of-two was found upside down in a baby’s cot with a lump hammer beside her.

Counsel for the prosecution Ms Pauline Walley SC asked gardaí to show Mr Steer a white shirt which forms exhibit number 4 in their case.

Asked if he had seen it before he said: “On the Tuesday morning before I went to college I saw Mr Udechukwu in a white shirt just like that.”

Asked what time this was he said: “It was about 8.30 in the morning. He was standing in the kitchen maybe making tea or something.”

He said he remembered the accused was also wearing shorts that could have been black in colour.

Ms Walley pointed out that there were marks on the shirt, which was shown to the witness.

However, he said the shirt he saw the accused wearing was very clean. H

e was shown a lump hammer and said he had never seen this before during the times he stayed at the apartment between August 2002 and February 2003.

He was also shown a hatchet which he said he had not seen before.

The witness agreed with Mr Pieter Le Vert BL (with Mr Blaise O’Carroll SC) defending that the accused had seemed very happy when he first came to stay at the apartment with his wife.

He agreed he told gardaí at the time that Mr Udechukwu had been “very nice” to Ms Gray and her sister Nicola Curtis and had made tea for them.

However, in evidence he said Ms Gray was shocked the accused was there. He said she was not happy but did not say anything about it as she was “a very quiet person".

The witness denied he had spoken to anyone else about his evidence in the case including his Aunt Nicola, her husband Ian Curtis and a previous witness Sharon Facey.

When Mr Le Vert formally put it to the witness that his client had not been at the apartment that Tuesday he replied: “He was there.”

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins and a jury of five men and seven women.