Accused says she was forced to kick murder victim

A woman accused of impeding the inquiry into the murder of Rebecca French has described how the 30-year-old was savagely kicked and beaten to death with golf clubs by four men in a drunken rage.

The charred body of the mother-of-one was found tied up in the boot of her burning car at Codd's Lane, Wexford on October 9, 2009.

Her skull had been smashed in three places, five of her ribs were broken and she had suffered severe lacerations and bruising to the head and upper body.

Helen Connors (aged 27) of Belvedere Grove in Wexford told gardaí she was ordered to clean up the bloody murder scene at a house at Ard na Dara in Clonard housing estate while the men disposed of Ms French's body, and that she had done so in fear of her life.

Ms Connors has pleaded not guilty to disposing of or attempting to destroy evidence with the intention of impeding the apprehension and prosecution of those involved in Ms French's murder.

Ms Connors told gardaí that she herself delivered “two poxy little kicks” to Ms French's chest when she was on the ground because she was ordered to do so.

“God forgive me. I didn't want to do it. I was told to kick her. They held me while I kicked her. In my own mind, I thought I'd be killed if I didn't, it was a do or die situation,” Ms Connors told gardaí.

Ms O'Connor named Ricardus Dilys, Ruslanas Mineikas, Piotr Pasiak and Patrick O'Connor as the four men who punched, kicked and beat Ms French to death with two golf clubs.

The accused also admitted swinging a golf club when one of the men handed it to her and told her to hit Rebecca, although the club didn't make contact with the murder victim.

“I was messing with the golf club. I was drunk. I was handed it to hit her, but I swung it and hit Piotr by accident. I didn't hit Rebecca, no way,” she told gardaí.

The court heard how the four men, along with Rebecca French and Helen Connors, had been drinking vodka and wine since about 11am on the morning in question.

Ms Connors told gardaí everything had been ok until Ricardus started “punching the face off Rebecca”.

“I asked her to stop provoking Ricardus because she kept getting hit in the face. I said 'Stop what you're at or you're going to be killed by them,'” said Ms Connnors.

She said that when Rebecca said she was going to go the police, Ricardus got “mad and paranoid” and called the other three men out to the kitchen, where they put on white latex gloves.

She said they proceeded to spray Rebecca in the face with CS gas and then started hitting, kicking and taking turns to beat her with the golf clubs; one man was described as hitting the victim “about 20 times” with the golf club.

“I've never seen anything like it in my life. You wouldn't treat an animal like that,” said Ms Connors, who said she “kept her mouth shut” because she was afraid she would be killed.

She describes how the men ordered her to get fresh latex gloves for them whenever one pair got torn or became full of blood, and to burn the old pair in the fire.

“They were throwing gloves at me and I was throwing them at the fire, I did that two or three times for each of them.”

Ms Connors said she didn't leave the house when the men went to dispose of the body because she didn't know when they would come back, and that she didn't call the guards because she didn't have a phone and was afraid the men would kill her.

The trial continues at the Central Criminal Court before Mr Justice Paul Carney and a jury of nine men and three women.

It is expected to last until early next week.