Murder accused's brother-in-law identified him in video still

The brother-in-law of a Nigerian man alleged to have murdered his wife with a lump hammer says he identified him from a video still taken from a hardware shop in Dublin on the day before the killing. A black man was seen buying a lump hammer that day.

Ian Curtis who was married to the deceased woman’s sister was giving evidence today in 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 February 18, 2003.

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

Peter Foran, a worker at a hardware store on North Frederick Street said that around midday on Monday February 17, 2003 a black man came in and asked about buying a hammer.

The witness agreed with Ms Pauline Walley SC that the man’s English was OK but he was speaking with broken English.

He said when he showed this man a number of builders’ claw hammers he asked if there was anything cheaper. Mr Foran said he showed him a Chinese claw hammer which was lighter with a “really cheap head”.

He said the man asked if there was anything heavier and he showed him a lump hammer for €5.

He agreed the man held the lump hammer and said “OK he’d take that.”

When he was shown a lump hammer by the garda exhibits officer which was removed from the scene of the killing the witness said: “That’s the type of hammer we sell in the shop and it would be because our sticker's on it.”

He said he had also sold the man a wooden-handled axe priced at €5.50.

Mr Foran said: “He took the axe and the hammer and I rounded it down to €10. He said the black man then placed the items in a black leather holdall.

Mr Foran was then shown CCTV footage taken from that day in the hardware store. He agreed that in the footage the man who appears to be holding the hammer had it in his left hand.

He also agreed with Ms Walley that the man appeared to put the hammer into his bag with his right hand and had picked up his wallet with his right hand and put it into his pocket.

The prosecution is now close to concluding its case. The trial continues before Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins.