He abused me from wedding night to death, says woman accused of husband's murder

A mother-of-four accused of murdering her husband in Co Laois two years ago told gardaí that he assaulted her on their wedding night, and the abuse continued throughout their 32-year marriage.

Following her arrest for Patrick Burke's murder in August 2007, Anne Burke (aged 56), of Ballybrittas in Co Laois, said in her Garda statements that she started drinking after their wedding in 1975, so she could stand up to her husband.