Cork murder trial hears accused told gardaí his partner's last words were 'this was not your fault'
Garda witnesses (left) Sergeant Brian Larkin and (right) Detective Garda Tomas Ryan who gave evidence on Wednesday. Picture: Larry Cummins
The 31-year-old man on trial for murdering his partner who was found with multiple stab wounds and a partially amputated arm said at the scene that her last words to him were: "I love you so much. This was not your fault".
Adam Corcoran is on trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork on the charge of murdering mother of two, Daena Walsh at their home at John Barry House, Midleton on August 2, 2024, and with arson of the apartment. He said she stabbed herself.
Detective Garda Tomás Ryan agreed with the suggestion from defence senior counsel, Brendan Grehan, that on that Friday afternoon at John Barry House it was a fairly frantic situation when gardaí responded to the emergency call from Adam Corcoran that his girlfriend had stabbed herself and was possibly dead.
“He appeared to be highly intoxicated and was raving… He was shouting, ‘She is dead, she is dead, she is f***ing dead, man, she f***ing killed herself’. I thought ‘raving’ was the best way to describe it.
"She was lying on her back. He was pretty much standing over her… Nothing I was saying appeared to be resonating with him. He was continuously shouting… Nothing I was saying was having any effect,” Det. Garda Ryan said.
The witness said the injuries to the 27-year-old woman, particularly to her abdomen and sternum, were catastrophic and that there was a lot of blood and she was clearly dead.
There was also smoke in the area, coming from the kitchen. He said Adam Corcoran had blood over his eye, blood on his hands and blood on his clothes.
Detective Garda Cormac O’Bric said that after coming out of John Barry House he spoke with Adam Corcoran in the back of ambulance and took notes as best he could.
The detective read from these notes in his evidence to the judge and jury on Wednesday, quoting Adam Corcoran as saying: “I came back from the offie. Saw Daena bleeding. I tried to save her. All she said was, ‘I love you so much. This was not your fault’.
“Daena was lighting candles before I went out (to the offie). We were going to have a sexual time if you know what I mean.
“(Afterwards) She had cuts. She had a big blade. I don’t know where it came from. I said I loved her.”
Det. Garda O’Bric questioned him about times and Adam Corcoran said he rang 999 three minutes after he returned from the off licence, and that he had only been gone for four minutes. Asked about what he bought in the off licence, he replied: “You would never see me buying there, bud.”
After saying this, the defendant said to the detective: “We have a hot relationship — the best woman in the world. No drama. Why would anyone do this to her?”
Asked if there was something being cooked in the kitchen, he replied: “Steak and chip and Sriracha sauce.”
Sergeant Brian Larkin said that when he arrived at the scene where the deceased had been found in the apartment, he heard a loud pop or bang from the apartment and saw a lot of blood on the floor with footprints through it.
“The deceased was on her back with a large stab wound to her abdomen… Her left arm was over her head. On the ring of the hob there was a bunch of aerosols wrapped in a tea towel, eight- or 10-inch flames going out of the tea towel.
"It was hard to find a fire extinguisher with all the smoke… Smoke was coming down from the ceiling and the heat was building up,” Sgt Larkin said.
Detective Sergeant Ger O’Shaughnessy said that at the scene, Adam Corcoran looked dishevelled with blood over his right eye, blood on his hands and on his clothing.
In relation to the deceased, the detective said: “The most significant wound was to her chest, a big gaping hole. Another serious wound was to her left arm.”
Detective Inspector John O’Connell said of the arm injury: “There was a very significant injury to her left elbow. It almost cut through the arm causing an amputation… In the middle of the chest was a gaping wound.”
After describing these injuries, the detective inspector said that pronouncing death was a formality and that this was pronounced that afternoon in the apartment in Midleton by Dr Hugh Doran.
The trial continues before a jury of eight men and four women and Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.
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