Widow's killer laughed during garda interview, court told

Widow Anne Corcoran’s killer laughed as he told detectives about driving her car through a garda checkpoint less than two days after burying her in a shallow grave, his murder trial heard today.

Oliver Hayes (aged 49) of Clancool Terrace, Bandon told interviewers that he moved the widow’s Peugeot away from his street about noon on Saturday January 24, 2009 before he flew to Austria on a skiing trip with his girlfriend. The 60-year-old had not been reported missing at that stage.

“I went through the garda checkpoint,” he said, explaining that the gardaí seemed interested in another car and that he was able to drive through and park her car in a lay-by.

A detective asked Hayes if he had a name ready if the gardaí had stopped him and asked.

“I’d probably have come up with something,” laughed Hayes. He laughed again when asked if he had really bought a paper in Innishannon that day or chips in Bandon on the Wednesday night as he said he had.

“No,” he responded to both questions. “I suppose I could claim insanity,” he joked.

The Central Criminal Court jury was watching his final garda interview from February 6 last year, after CCTV footage of him withdrawing money from his victim’s account led to his arrest.

The painter has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murdering Anne Corcoran between January 19 and 21, 2009, after abducting her from her home at Maulnaskimlehane, Kilbrittain. He admits falsely imprisoning her in his house and stealing €3,000 from her bank account in the days following her death.

Hayes also told gardaí that he attended a 25th wedding anniversary party the night before his holiday. He had taken his girlfriend and her sister to the surprise house party, dropping them both home around 1am.

“I went back to Bandon and picked up a half bag of dog food,” he said, explaining that he then drove to his victim’s townland and parked at a crossroads.

“There’s nowhere else I could park it without drawing much attention. If I had parked on the road, it would stand out a mile,” he explained.

“The same scenario as before,“ he continued. “I walked back to Anne Corcoran’s house and let myself in again and fed the dogs.”

The killer said they still had some of the food he had given them the previous night after he buried the widow.

“But I was going on holidays the next day and in case anyone wasn’t around,” he said, “I made sure they’d enough to keep going for nearly a week.”

He returned home and walked his own dogs before packing for Austria.

“I could have done without it,” he said of the holiday. “It was the wrong time.”

Earlier pathologist Dr Derek Carson gave evidence on behalf of the defence. He agreed with the assistant state pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, that death was due to a combination of blunt force trauma to the head, a gag and being "trussed up" with electrical cable.

He said the bruising to Mrs Corcoran’s face could have been caused by a struggle but agreed with John O’Kelly SC, prosecuting, that it could also have been caused by a blow, and that her black eye was more likely to have resulted from a punch.

“It has to be moderate force at least to split the scalp,” he said of another of her injuries, while agreeing that the injuries to her brain were consistent with severe force.

Mr O’Kelly asked him if Mrs Corcoran would have lived had she received medical attention or had her gag removed hours after being knocked unconscious, when Hayes said she was still alive.

“I think so, yes,” he said to both questions.

The trial continues Mr Justice Paul Carney.