A DERRY man on trial at the Central Criminal Court for murdering the mother of his unborn child admits killing her in her home in Derry City last year.
Stephen Cahoon (37) of Harvey Street, Derry, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of mother-of-four Jean Teresa Quigley (30) on July 26th, 2008, in Cornshell Fields, Shantallow, north Derry. A postmortem found she was strangled and beaten.
Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, said his client was making about 20 admissions, the most important being that he killed Ms Quigley. The others related to procedures followed in the investigation before and after his arrest in Co Donegal.
The case is making legal history. Mr Cahoon was charged under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act of 1976, and was given the option of being tried in Dublin or in Northern Ireland. He opted for Dublin, and became the first person to be tried before a jury for an offence under the legislation.
The 1976 Act was brought in to allow for trials in the Republic for offences committed outside the jurisdiction in Northern Ireland or Great Britain. It has rarely been used and up until now the only cases have been brought before the three-judge, non-jury Special Criminal Court, which deals with terrorist offences. Last year a Belfast man was convicted of murder at the Special Criminal Court under the 1976 Act.
Patrick Marrinan SC, prosecuting, told the jury that Ms Quigley met the accused around St Patrick’s Day last year and their relationship blossomed quickly. The deceased became pregnant with the defendant’s child but the relationship deteriorated and they broke up two weeks before she was killed.
Mr Marrinan said Ms Quigley’s mother found her daughter’s naked, badly-beaten body partially covered in a bedroom in her home on the evening of July 26th. A postmortem found an injury on Ms Quigley’s neck indicating strangulation. Her head, arms, legs and torso were bruised.
He said the defendant’s DNA profile matched samples taken from sperm and other material found on Ms Quigley’s body, as well as from water found on toilet tissue at the scene. Blood on a T-shirt found in Mr Cahoon’s flat was Ms Quigley’s.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury. Originally expected to last six weeks, it is now expected to finish in a fortnight. Mr O’Higgins said this was down to his client’s admissions, reducing the number of witnesses from 280 to 30.
