Stepdaughter offered to help murder accused

THE daughter of Meg Walsh, whose stepfather has been accused of her mother’s murder, texted a member of his family offering to help him because she couldn’t live with not knowing what happened to her mother, a Central Criminal Court jury has heard.

Sasha Keating, 18, daughter of Meg Walsh, texted her stepfather’s sister last July after a night of drinking. She told defence counsel Iseult O’Malley SC in cross- examination, that she regretted sending the text at about 3.45am.

The text, sent to Theresa O’Brien, read: “Hey, I’m the only one that wants to help you now so please listen to me. Will you listen? John is still my stepfather. Believe me or not, but I want to help him. Will you listen? I really hate seeing anyone in this state. Will you listen please?”

Bus driver John O’Brien, aged 41, with an address in Ballinakill Downs, Co Waterford, denies murdering the 35-year-old motherof one on a date between October 1, 2006, and October 15, 2006.

Ms Keating told Ms O’Malley: “I sent that because I was afraid he was in such a state he would do something to himself. I couldn’t live with not knowing what happened to my mother. I needed him to tell me what he did to her.”

She told Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, prosecuting, that O’Brien called her at 8.30 on October 14 and asked her if she was all right. “He said he was just back home and if I wanted to go to the house to collect any of my things.”

Ms Keating said she didn’t have much in the house, but asked him if she could collect all of her mother’s stuff. O’Brien agreed. She said she didn’t go to the house for several weeks after the call since her mother’s body was found the following day.

Harry Condon told Mr Buckley he had taken his boat out onto the River Suir at about 3pm on October 15 to help with the search. He was a subcontractor with Meadowcourt Homes, where Ms Walsh worked as the office administrator. He was called over to the bank by another man helping in the search. Mr Condon said that as he drew closer in the boat the other man became distressed and started shouting something about a body.

Mr Condon looked to the part of water the man was pointing to and saw a body floating face down. He said when he saw her hair floating he knew it was Meg.

Eric Fitzsimmons told Mr Buckley he lived opposite the house Meg Walsh lived in with the accused. On October 1, 2006, he was in the front passenger seat of his car. His wife was driving, bringing their son to a rugby game. They were passed by a dark grey car. He recognised O’Brien as the driver. The car was coming from an undeveloped piece of land and Mr Fitzsimmons said he commented to his wife that he hoped O’Brien wasn’t illegally dumping anything.

His wife, Maureen Fitzsimmons, said she had noticed a car pass, but was concentrating on the road so she did not register the driver. She said she remembered her husband’s comment because she did not want to be talking about dumping on a Sunday morning. When he left for work at about 8am there was no car outside the house.

Mr Fitzsimmons told Mr Buckley he was awake at about 5am the following morning when lights from O’Brien’s car lit up his bedroom. He told Paddy McCarthy SC, defending, that he was aware that O’Brien got up for work at about 5.30am. He had made an earlier statement to gardaí that contradicted his evidence, because he had not remembered seeing the car until later.

Nicky Farrell told Dominic McGinn, prosecuting, that he lived with his parents in a house directly behind O’Brien’s home. He was having breakfast with his family at about midday on Sunday, October 1. From the kitchen table he could see the back of the other house. As he was eating his breakfast he looked out and saw Meg Walsh in an upstairs bedroom. She appeared to be putting clothes away.

Eoin O’Regan told Mr McGinn that he had worked with Meg Walsh in Fermoy at a firm of electrical contacts manufacturers called SCI. At the time she was married to her first husband and was known as Mags Keating.

He said Meg left SCI in 2001 when she got a job in Waterford after her marriage broke down. He kept in touch with her as he also lived in Waterford. He was aware she met John O’Brien and the two got married in September 2005, a little more than a year before her death. He had met up with Meg and O’Brien on Saturday, September 30, in the bar of the Meadowlands Hotel. He told Mr McGinn he left at about 2.45am and had been one of a number of people, including Meg Walsh, John O’Brien and Owen Walsh.

Mr Walsh, continuing his cross-examination yesterday, told Mr McCarthy he had not been holding hands with Meg when they were sitting in the hotel lobby after the bar had closed. Although he said she could have been holding his wrist.

He agreed that he had been sitting down when he and Meg kissed goodnight when he had gone back with her and O’Brien and accepted an invitation to stay the night.

He could not say if he had been sitting on the edge of the bed in the spare room, or on a chair.

The trial continues today before Mr Justice Barry White and the jury of seven men and five women.