A woman has told an Armagh murder trial jury how she found her dead neighbour, a mother-of-two, being cradled by her boyfriend on the kitchen floor. The victim was discovered strangled with vacuum cleaner flex in her home last October.
Mrs Shirley Sleator was giving evidence yesterday, on the third day of the trial in Armagh Crown Court of Mr Gary Edward Scullion (35), a salesman.
Mr Scullion, from Cookstown, denies killing Mrs Pamela Stevenson (31) at her home in Orangefield Drive on Sunday, October 6th.
The tragedy was discovered by the woman's daughter, Samantha (12), when she came downstairs with her brother, William (11), around 8 a.m.
On the opening day, State Pathologist, Prof Jack Crane, gave evidence that Mrs Stevenson had been strangled while lying face down on the kitchen carpet. He later told senior defence counsel, Mr John McCrudden QC, that a major consideration in his investigation had been that the strangulation may have been selfinflicted. He now believed this was unlikely.
In her evidence, Mrs Sleator said Mr Scullion kept repeating: "Why have you done this Pamela?" She said he was crying.