A man admitted strangling his wife during a domestic dispute, a prosecution barrister claimed at a murder trial yesterday. "I strangled her, I just grabbed her neck and squeezed as hard as I could," Mr Joseph Kinsella allegedly told gardai. The court heard that the victim had drunk so much alcohol that she may have been in a coma when she was attacked.
Mr Andrew Bradley SC was making opening submissions on the first day of the trial of Mr Kinsella (47), Corduff Grove, Blanchardstown, Dublin, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Bente Carroll (45) at their home on May 26th, 1999.
Mr Bradley said Mr Kinsella "went berserk" and smashed up furniture after he was told that his wife was dead. Another witness said Mr Kinsella attacked a member of the ambulance crew which called to the house and accused ambulance staff of killing his wife.
Recalling events on the night of the killing, Mr Bradley said the couple were arguing outside a Chinese restaurant earlier that night and Mr Kinsella struck her. Mr Bradley said Mr Kinsella broke up a coffee table and lights and caused "various mayhem" in his house after he was told his wife was dead. He later told gardai that he came home from the takeaway and found his wife dead on the floor.
Mr Bradley said Mr Kinsella "maintained his stance" during a second interview but later confessed to strangling his wife. He said Mr Kinsella recalled grabbing his wife's T-shirt and told gardai there was a violent struggle between them.
Mr Bradley said that Ms Carroll had three children from a previous marriage. She had known Mr Kinsella since 1996 and they married in 1998. They moved to Corduff Grove after their house burnt down. Both of them had a drinking problem.
Ms Glenda Dunphy said she was in the Corduff area on the night of the killing and heard screaming and shouting coming from Mr Kinsella's home. A neighbour told her that a woman in the house was dead.
Ms Dunphy went into the house with a friend and saw Mr Kinsella sitting on a chair mumbling words like: "Ah no, she's dead" and "somebody killed her". The lights were off and he held a flagon of cider in his hand. Ms Dunphy spotted a woman's body lying face down on the floor. An ambulance arrived and Mr Kinsella attacked one of the crew.
Cross-examined by Mr Paul McDermott SC, defending, Ms Dunphy agreed that Mr Kinsella had calmed down for some time and only became upset again when the ambulance crew arrived.
Ms Sabrina Farmer said she was calling to her mother's house in Corduff earlier that night when Mr Kinsella tapped her on the shoulder and said: "My wife, my wife, there's something wrong with her. Go in and check on her."
Ms Farmer went into the house with two youths and saw Ms Carroll lying on the floor. There were empty drink bottles and tablets "all over the house" and the back door window had been smashed. Mr Kinsella told her that someone had tried to break in and one of the youths told him that his wife was dead.
Mr Kinsella "went ballistic" and started smashing up the house. When the ambulance crew arrived, he attacked one of them and said: "You killed my wife."
Under cross-examination, Ms Farmer said Mr Kinsella had tried to lift his wife on to a chair and wiped blood from her hands and face. She believed that he might have been calling his wife's name as he did so.
One of the jurors was earlier excused after he told the court that he was a member of the Pioneer Association and could not hear the case fairly because alcohol played such a central role in the evidence.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Carney and a jury.