Sunday, 28 Apr 2024

Woman denies her daughter dressed up as grandmother to pretend she was still alive

Patricia O’Connor’s daughter denied that her account of what happened on the night her mother was allegedly murdered was a “web of lies”, a jury has heard.

Louise O’Connor told gardaí that she never saw her mother’s body wrapped in blankets at her house, and her daughter Stephanie “didn’t dress up as my Ma” to pretend she was still alive.

She was being interviewed after she was arrested on suspicion of murdering her mother.

Four people are on trial at the Central Criminal Court over Patricia O’Connor’s death in 2017.

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Louise O’Connor’s then-partner, Kieran Greene (34), is charged with murder, while Louise (41), her daughter Stephanie (22) and Louise’s ex- partner Keith Johnston (43) are accused of impeding the investigation. They all deny the charges.

Patricia O’Connor (61), a grandmother-of-seven, was allegedly murdered on May 29, 2017, at the house at Mountain View Park, Rathfarnham, she shared with family including her daughter, granddaughter Stephanie and Mr Greene.

Her remains were found scattered in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains between June 10 and 14, that year.

Stephanie O’Connor is accused of disguising herself as her grandmother on May 29 to pretend that she was still alive, while her mother Louise allegedly agreed to this.

Gardaí showed Louise O’Connor CCTV footage from outside her house on May 29 as they interviewed her on September 2 and 3.

She said this showed her mother leaving with a suitcase at 9.34pm, after a row.

She, her daughter, Mr Greene and the children were in the house and went to bed after her mother left. Her father Gus O’Connor came home at 10.23pm.

However, a person was seen coming in the back door at 10.05pm carrying a bag and Ms O’Connor did not know who this was.

“Houdini or someone,” she said.

She agreed that a black suitcase found in the house was “identical” to the one seen at 9.34pm but said it was maybe “one of a set”.

Gardaí put it to her that the person leaving the house was her daughter Stephanie wearing Patricia’s jacket.

“That is not Stephanie,” she said. “That’s ridiculous. That’s my Ma.”

The person was not wearing a dress, but she said “she obviously got changed”. Louise was shown fabric found in the shallow grave in Wexford where her mother was initially buried and was asked if it was her mother’s dress. She said it looked like it.

Earlier, Patricia was seen coming in the back door at 6.35pm and a person was seen closing the curtains at the back of the house at 6.52pm. Louise agreed this was Kieran Greene.

A clip from the front of the house showed Louise and children going to the park at 6.53pm.

She was asked if her mother was dead when they returned.

“How could a dead woman walk out?” she said.

Gardaí asked if Mr Greene “managed to do this in secret”.

“What, kill me Ma? Yeah,” she replied. “He’s a f**king nut.”

She went to the park “to get peace from my Mam”, she said, but denied it was “permanent peace” and “my Mam was alive when we walked out”.

Louise denied discussing killing her mother with Mr Greene, Stephanie or her father.

She said again she did not know what happened until two weeks later.

“That is a web of lies for you and your family,” a garda put to her.

“I know what I seen and heard,” she said. “Stephanie didn’t dress up as my Ma.”

Stephanie O’Connor was also arrested on suspicion of murder and the jury is hearing continued evidence of her interviews.

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