Mother died of head wounds, murder trial hears

The trial of a nurse charged with murdering her mother in their Dublin home has heard that the 55-year-old died of blunt force trauma to the head.

The Central Criminal Court was hearing from the Deputy State Pathologist in the trial of a 36-year-old woman, charged with murdering her mother on Christmas Eve four years ago.

Greta Dudko, of Station Court Hall, Clonsilla has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Anna Butautiene (55). However, the Lithuanian mother of one has pleaded not guilty to her murder at that address on December 24th, 2010.

Dr Michael Curtis testified this morning that he carried out a postmortem exam on Ms Butautiene's body.

He said he had been given Ms Dudko’s version of events that she had banged her mother’s head against a wall twice, before twice hitting her over the head with a glass bottle.

He outlined five head wounds, explaining that they had come from five to eight separate blows. The skull had been fractured, he added.

He said that two of the wounds could have been caused by being struck off a wall or with the bottle, and that the other three were more likely to have been caused by the bottle.

The trial already heard the accused, her mother and Ms Dudko’s toddler had left the home they shared with Ms Dudko’s husband just weeks earlier. Ms Dudko told detectives that her mother had described her son in law as a beast and encouraged her to leave him.

She said she had a row with her mother on Christmas Eve when Ms Butautiene arrived home to find that her son in law had taken her grandson for the night.

She said Ms Butautiene had hit her and pulled her by her hair and his is when she had inflicted the head injuries on her mother.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Carney and a jury of seven men and five women.