A DUNDALK detective has told a court in Spain that the brother-in- law of Kelly Anne Corcoran had told him that her son said his mother had been "pushed by Daddy".
It was the second day of the trial at the Criminal Court in Malaga of Dundalk man Michael McArdle, who is accused of throwing his wife to her death from a hotel balcony during a holiday on the Costa del Sol in February 2000.
The court heard statements yesterday from Irish witnesses, including relatives of Ms Corcoran (28) and gardaí who interviewed Mr McArdle in Ireland at the request of the Spanish authorities.
Spanish detectives had closed the case in 2000 because they did not suspect foul play in the death of the mother of two. However, discrepancies encountered in the investigation and pressure from her family led the authorities to re-examine the circumstances surrounding the death.
Det Sgt Brian Mohan, a detective at Dundalk Garda station at the time of Ms Corcoran's death, told the judge and jury that her brother-in-law had confided in him that the couple's young son had said his mother had been "pushed by Daddy".
The court heard also that Spanish police noted that when interviewed shortly after the death of his wife, Mr McArdle's reaction was not consistent with that of a grieving husband and father.
Mr McArdle's defence lawyer Luis Casaubon accused the Corcoran family of waging a vendetta against his client to obtain custody of his two sons and "seeking his financial ruin" by using false information to have the case reopened in both Spain and Ireland.
Asked in court about a possible financial motive for killing his wife, Mr McArdle had earlier said he claimed on an insurance policy shortly after her death, but insisted the policy covered a mortgage repayment only.