Court told mother of three was stabbed to death

A mother of three allegedly murdered by her estranged partner was stabbed eight times with fatal blows piercing her liver, right lung and left femoral artery, a court has heard.

Hadim Kedik, aged 33, with an address at 10 Connolly Street, Clonakilty, Co Cork, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Rose Patterson, 30, between April 11 and 12, last year.

The Turkish barber has admitted inflicting Ms Patterson’s injuries but says he never planned to kill her.

Two members of the public gallery quietly cried as Dr Margaret Bolster, assistant state pathologist, read her findings to the jury of eight men and four women in the Central Criminal Court at Dublin.

The eight stab wounds, seven down Ms Patterson right side and one in her left groin ranged in depth from 9cm to 12cm piercing her right lung, liver and cutting her left femoral artery.

Dr Bolster said Ms Patterson died as a result of multiple stab wounds with haemorrhaging with shock. She also had a collapsed lung and defence injuries.

In interviews with gardaí Kedik, who turned the knife on himself in front of the couple’s 21-month-old son, admitted he swung the knife at Ms Patterson but not necessarily intending to stab her, the court heard.

The court has heard the couple separated after the birth of their son and Ms Patterson had two children from a previous relationship.

With bandages on his wrists and neck Kedik told gardaí in a video interview shown to the court, “yes I did it but it was not the only person who created this problem and I was not the only person responsible for the problem.”

In interviews with gardaí after the killing Kedik said the couple had been arguing about Ms Patterson turning up late for court ordered access visits that were supposed to take place between 1pm and 6pm on Wednesdays and 11am and 6pm on Sundays.

He said they were also talking about their son’s injured finger that Kedik said Ms Patterson was failing to treat.

Kedik claimed Ms Patterson got angry when she started to see he was right and pushed him.

As he got up he said Ms Patterson went for a knife on the kitchen table but he grabbed it first.

“I swung the knife but not necessarily with the intention to stab her, I don’t know when the knife hit.”

The jury of eight men and four women were also read statement taken from Kedik

He said he remembered seeing her sitting on their couch wearing his jersey.

“In the beginning I didn’t realise, then later I saw blood.”

“I saw her in that moment and I suppose I lost myself,” the statement said.

“I had the knife in my hand but I don’t know if it was the same knife or another knife.”

“With the shock of that moment I cut my throat.”

He described falling around the apartment above the barbershop where he worked and had lived since he split with Ms Patterson.

He said he saw Ms Patterson get up, “then she collapsed next to the door. Next to me the child was sleeping then he woke up.”

He said he tried to give the baby some milk.

At some point he cut his wrists with a razor, he told gardaí.

Their son was on the armchair.

“I put on the CD of cartoon. I fell down again.”

He said he had told Ms Patterson it was his day with their son.

Earlier the court was read translations of two letters written in Turkish found in the apartment.

One was addressed to his friend Romazan Cansu who he had come to Ireland with, from Turkey in 2002, to work at the, A Cut Above, barbershop in Clonakilty.

“Perhaps you are going to resentfully judge me for what I have done but please don’t do so,” it read.

“What I thought was beautiful thing which didn’t happen my friend my thought was also to kill (my son) but I always watched him,” it said.

“He is a clever boy I can’t do it.”

He said he would only kill Ms Patterson and then himself.

A second letter read to the court and written to an address in Turkey said he was sorry to upset his family but he would always be with them.

“My conscious is clear. I love Rose but whatever she said or did neither represents me or my family.”

The letter said his son was clever and he could not kill him.

“I can’t carry some things anymore and this is my problem. This is my life and I’m ending it,” the letter read.

Mr John O’Kelly SC is appearing for the DPP and Mr Blaise O’Carroll appears for Kedik.

The trial before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy continues.