A detective has rejected a defence claim that he had “already judged” a 37-year-old man accused of murdering a woman.
Det Sgt Robert Madden also denied a defence claim that he had decided before a garda interview began that Daniel Blanaru (37) had committed the crime.
“He spoke about how he had stabbed her in the heart area and the noise she made,” Det Sgt Robert Madden said during cross-examination in the trial.
Mr Blanaru, from Rathmore, Athboy, Co Meath, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Larisa Serban (26) on or about August 12th, 2022.
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It is the State’s case that she was stabbed to death by Mr Blanaru, whom they argue was a “jealous” and “controlling” partner.
The jury previously heard how in a garda interview, Mr Blanaru said he “might have” stabbed Ms Serban with a “very sharp” knife, but he could not say how deep into her body it went. He also told gardaí: “I am guilty. I killed her. Please lock me up.”
At the Central Criminal Court on Thursday, Det Sgt Madden, who had interviewed the accused at Ashbourne Garda station on August 12th, 2022, was cross-examined by Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending.
Mr Ó Lideadha put it to the witness that he “had already judged” Mr Blanaru before beginning the interview, having already decided the accused had committed murder.
Det Sgt Madden said: “I was there to get an account from the suspect. With every murder investigation, we approach it with an open mind. This was his opportunity to give his account.”
Mr Ó Lideadha said: “He’d admitted stabbing her in the previous interview, so you had made up your mind.”
The detective replied that if a suspect admitted something then this must be corroborated with evidence. He said Mr Blanaru was a suspect who had to comment on the evidence put to him.
Mr Ó Lideadha put it to the witness that the gardaí had photos of the crime scene, but the main focus of these was “the face and body of Larisa lying dead on the floor”.
He asked what the purpose was of showing Mr Blanaru these photos, to which Det Sgt Madden replied that it was to establish the location of the murder weapon.
Mr Ó Lideadha asked the witness whether he had been aware that Mr Blanaru had been awake for the whole night before being interviewed.
Det Sgt Madden said he was not aware of exactly when the accused had slept, but he knew that Mr Blanaru had been assessed by a doctor and deemed fit to be interviewed.
Mr Ó Lideadha said: “Do you accept as a matter of common sense that a person who hasn’t slept for 24 hours or more, that can have an adverse effect on their cognitive abilities and their ability to interact with the demands of an interview process?”
Det Sgt Madden said: “The common sense approach is to let a doctor make that assessment.”
Mr Ó Lideadha asked the witness if he had been aware that any reference to the accused’s children was liable to make him upset and start crying.
Det Sgt Madden said he did not know if he had mentioned anything about the accused’s children, but he said Mr Blanaru was upset from the start of the interview.
“We were there to do a job. It’s difficult, he was upset, but someone being upset doesn’t preclude us from putting the evidence to him,” he said.
Defence counsel said that in the interview Mr Blanaru said he had been up for two days with no food, yet the gardaí did not say that they had any concerns about his fitness to be interviewed.
Det Sgt Madden said: “He said he had been drinking alcohol and taking drugs, but he didn’t appear under the influence.
“He spoke about how he had stabbed her in the heart area and the noise she made.”
He said the accused was asked how many times he stabbed her, to which Mr Blanaru had replied that he did not know. “He said that there was no point in lying any more, which suggested that he had lied before,” Det Sgt Madden said.
Mr Ó Lideadha pointed out that what the accused had actually said was that he had “possibly” stabbed her while they were struggling.
“On various occasions he says ‘possibly’ and you turn that into stabbing her in the heart,” Mr Ó Lideadha said.
Det Sgt Madden said: “We know she was stabbed in the heart, and we know he had a knife in his hand.”
The trial continues on Friday before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and an enlarged jury of 11 men and four women.
