Westmeath 'cold-case' murder trial continues

The jury in the Westmeath cold-case murder trial has seen photographs of bones and teeth found in the victim’s garden years after his death, and heard that his wife dressed him in women’s clothes before telling his doctor he was mad.

The photographs were identified in the Central Criminal Court by a number of gardaí who worked on the search in 1993. They were giving evidence on day seven of the trial of Vera McGrath and Colin Pinder, who deny murdering Bernard Brian McGrath six years earlier.

Vera McGrath (aged 61) has pleaded not guilty to murdering her 43-year-old husband at their home in Lower Coole, Westmeath on a date between March 10 and April 18, 1987.

Colin Pinder (aged 47) of Liverpool, England has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter when he was engaged to Mr and Mrs McGrath’s oldest daughter, Veronica.

Detective Garda James Campbell said the house was vacant when he searched the family’s back garden in November 1993. He said the team dug for half an hour before coming across the charred remains of a fire, covered by six inches of clay.

“We removed the clay and started to search minutely with trowels,” he said. “I found pieces of bone and cloth and some teeth, which appeared to be human.”

He identified the evidence in photographs for the court.

“Garda (Roger) Nicholson uncovered a jaw bone with the teeth still intact,” he continued.

Garda Nicholson said later that this appeared to be one side of a jaw bone and was not burnt like the other ‘joints of bone’ found.

“It seemed to be in the soil under the burned area,” he explained, adding that he also found some other bones outside of the burnt area. “I took the impression that they were bones from a foot, like finger bones.”

Garda Kieran Williams said that after they got down on their hands and knees he found particles of apparently blood-stained cloth.

“I came across small particles of bone that looked like bones from a finger” he recalled also. Photographs were then shown to the jury of what Dominic McGinn BL, prosecuting, described as ‘almost a complete set of hand bones‘.

Retired ballistics expert Sergeant Edwin Hancock said a steel crow bar was recovered from the family’s home-made septic tank. The team emptied and examined the contents of this tank.

“We found bones and a gent’s watch with no strap,” he said.

Sgt Hancock also found Irish coins from 1970, 1978 and 1982 during his search of the burnt area.

A kitchen knife and Stanley knife were found in a cavity of the garage wall, which seemed to be daubed with a tar-like substance, he said. He could not remove this material so had the affected blocks removed instead.

Earlier a neighbour gave evidence of seeing Mrs McGrath crush tablets into her husband’s tea before dressing him in women’s clothes and calling a doctor to say he was going mad.

“He was just going funny in himself,” said Mary Manning of Mr McGrath. She said the doctor came to find him in bed wearing a skirt and black tights.

“They got on very well,” she earlier said of Mr and Mrs McGrath. “She treated him great.”

The trial continues Mr Justice John Edwards and the jury of four women and eight men.