The younger of two Dublin sisters accused of murdering and chopping up their mother's boyfriend told gardaí that their mother told them "please just kill him for me", and gave them a knife and hammer, a jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Charlotte Mulhall (23) and her sister, Linda (31), both of Kilcare Gardens, Tallaght, have each denied the murder of Farah Swaleh Noor (otherwise known as Sheilila Salim) at their mother's flat at Richmond Cottages, Ballybough, on March 20th last year. His headless and dismembered body was found floating in the Royal Canal 10 days later.
Det Sgt Gerard McDonnell told George Birmingham SC, prosecuting, that he had taken a statement from Charlotte Mulhall on October 17th last year.
In the statement, which was read out to the jury, Charlotte initially denied that she had been at the flat at the time of the killing and said she and Linda had been drinking "all over town" that night from 10pm until 5am or 6am the next morning, when she came home to find her mother, Kathleen, covered in blood.
She said at first she thought her mother had been assaulted by the dead man, but then her mother said she had killed him with a hammer and by cutting his throat, before chopping up his body.
Asked about her sister's earlier statements to gardaí in which Linda had confessed to the killing, she said: "I just think Linda is mad for saying things she didn't do." Asked why she had said this she said: "Because we promised my ma we would say we did it."
She said her mother had threatened to kill herself if she went to prison.
However later in the interview when she was asked what happened, Charlotte said: "Everything that Linda said." Det Sgt McDonnell said she cried and agreed she loved her sister and had wanted to protect her.
She said Mr Noor had made threats to her mother.
The trial continues today.