EAMONN LILLIS began the affair with his massage therapist 10 weeks before his wife’s death, the jury was told at his trial for her murder yesterday
The Central Criminal Court jury was given details of his Garda interviews on the day of his arrest for killing Celine Cawley at Rowan Hill, Windgate Road, Howth.
Mr Lillis (52), a TV advertisement producer, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her at their home on December 15th, 2008, while their daughter was at school.
Det Garda Paul Donoghue give evidence of interviewing Mr Lillis at Clontarf Garda station from 11am that morning, four hours after his arrest.
“What did she say?” asked Mr Lillis on December 20th, 2008 when gardaí told him Jean Tracey had given a statement.
“She said she’s been having an affair with you for the past 10 weeks and that she’s been in your house three times,” the garda said. Mr Lillis had just denied any relationship other than receiving professional massages from her every Friday.
“She said you were getting a massage in Howth Haven and you asked her what she was thinking,” he said. “She took your hand . . .
The next time he went for his massage, they kissed in one of the treatment rooms, the statement continued, Det Garda Donoghue said. “No comment,” responded Mr Lillis.
“The first time you had sex was in your house on a Monday, her day off. She thinks Celine and your daughter were in London,” Det Garda Donoghue continued. “You bought her a phone and texted every day. We have the phone.”
“No comment,” he replied.
“Were you not happy in your marriage?” the garda asked. “No comment,” he again replied. “I did have an affair but it has absolutely nothing to do with this.”
Mr Lillis agreed that he and his wife had some problems, but said they worked them out with the help of a resolution list he made.
“We sat down one night with a bottle of wine. By the end of it, it was very therapeutic,” he said.
“Were you infatuated with Jean?” he was asked. “I suppose it was a form of midlife crisis,” replied Mr Lillis. However he said he would never leave his wife; he wouldn’t break up the family.
“We’ve a statement from a witness that said yours was a sexless marriage and that this suited you both,” said the garda. “Not true,” replied Mr Lillis.
He knew Ms Tracey was due to get married in June. When asked if he was jealous, he replied: “I don’t do jealous.”
He agreed that he was going to meet Ms Tracey the day of his wife’s death but denied that Ms Cawley had found out, that they had had a row that morning, that he had killed her and covered it up.
“We’ve had rows before but nothing like that,” Mr Lillis said. “I just wouldn’t be capable, not to my wife, not to her, not to anyone.”
“I didn’t kill her. I swear before God. I couldn’t do it to Celine,” he had said earlier in the statement.
When asked if he loved his wife, he replied: “God yes.” He said they had a very close relationship both personally and professionally, that she was “a really good friend”.
“She was a tower of strength for me really,” he said.
Det Garda Donoghue agreed with Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that at one point he had told Mr Lillis that there was no point beating about the bush.
“It’s quite obvious that you lost the head and flipped that morning,” he said to him. “Everyone we’ve spoken to said you were a nice, gentle, caring soul.”
The garda said it was obvious a tragedy had happened. “It’s within all of us. A build-up of resentment can cause us to explode,” he said.
Det Sgt Fionnuala Olohan said she later showed Mr Lillis CCTV footage of himself buying a newspaper in the Summit Stores at 8.30am. In the video he was wearing a black jumper with a collar, blue jeans and black runner boots.
The trial has already heard that he was wearing a grey fleece, green combats and brown shoes when gardaí arrived at the scene. He told the detective he had changed to take his dogs for a walk after buying the paper.
The jury was also shown two bricks, one bloodied, along with heavily bloodstained clothing found in his attic in the days after his wife’s death.
Garda Colm Mac Donnachadha donned protective gloves to hold up heavily bloodstained blue jeans, white socks, a black jumper, boxer shorts, outdoor gloves, rubber gloves, a tea towel and kitchen towels.
Ballistics expert Det Garda Alan Curry held up a bloodstained cobblestone. It had been beside Ms Cawley’s head as she lay unconscious in a pool of blood on the patio.
He also showed the jury a bloodstained polo shirt and black runner boots he took from Mr Lillis’s wardrobe, along with a Breitling watch he found on the defendant’s bedside locker.
“Initially it appeared perfect,” he said of the watch. “However when I picked it up I noticed the face had been smeared. The links in the wrist-strap had bloodlike staining and the clasp had bloodlike staining and tissue embedded in it.”
Det Garda Colin Fitzpatrick showed the jury a red brick he found in a tea towel on a shelf in the dining room. There was no blood on the tea towel or brick, he said.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Barry White and a jury.