Alison O’Riordan
A murder-accused made three anonymous phone calls to Gardaí stating he had killed a 71-year-old pensioner who lived alone in her home, a prosecution barrister has told a jury at the Central Criminal Court.
John O'Kelly SC, for the State, also told the trial that Anne Butler was in the company of the defendant when she was last seen alive and that there are important forensic connections between the accused and the deceased.
The court heard her body was not discovered until five days after her death.
Trevor Rowe (29), with an address at Abbey Street, Kilkenny, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 71-year-old Ms Butler at her home at Maudlin Street, Kilkenny on March 20th, 2020.
Opening the prosecution’s case on Tuesday morning, Mr O'Kelly said this was a "clear case" where the intent for murder was "obvious".
The court will hear evidence of Ms Butler's cause of death, the lawyer said, which was asphyxia, blunt force trauma to the head with an incised wound to the neck and multiple stab wounds to the body. "The natural and probable consequences of inflicting that on anyone is serious injury or death," Mr O'Kelly added.
Anonymous calls
Outlining the facts of the case, Mr O'Kelly said Ms Butler's body was found at her home on Maudlin Street five days later on March 25th. This, counsel said, resulted from a number of anonymous phone calls received by Gardaí on March 25th.
"There were three anonymous 999 calls stating he had killed a woman and she was in Maudlin Street behind Langtons Hotel. These calls were traced back by Gardaí to Trevor Rowe," he said.
Mr O'Kelly said these calls were made from other people's phones, but Gardaí were able to "check back" to one of those phones and received information from them that Mr Rowe had made a call using their phone. "The timing of those calls tie in with calls to the Garda command and control centre and as a result of that Gardaí went to Mr Rowe's home," he continued.
The prosecution barrister went on to tell the court that officers met Mr Rowe at his house and asked him whether he had made those calls to gardaí. "He said he did and that the woman was in Maudlin Street. Gardaí asked him if he would show them where she was," he said.
Detailing the evidence that will be heard, Mr O'Kelly said Mr Rowe directed gardaí across town in the patrol car and pointed to a red door when they got to Maudlin Street, which was Ms Butler's house. Inside, gardaí found Ms Butler's body in a state of decomposition on the couch. "She had the injuries I described and you will hear how the rest of the investigation unfolds," he said.
Forensic evidence
There will be forensic evidence on a number of items, counsel said, that connects Mr Rowe to the scene of Ms Butler's death.
One of these items was a can of Lindentree cider found in the deceased's house with Mr Rowe's DNA on it. Another item was a pair of gloves with Ms Butler's blood on them, which were found in a bag belonging to the accused man.
A third item was part of a crucifix which had been in the deceased's house and was later found in the possession of Mr Rowe. "These are important forensic connections between the accused man and the deceased," said Mr O'Kelly.
CCTV footage from the evening of March 20th, the court heard, will show Ms Butler walking through the streets of Kilkenny city, turning into Maudlin Street and heading towards her house around 9.30pm that night.
The jury, he said, will also see CCTV from the same evening of Mr Rowe walking across Kilkenny and arriving at Maudlin Street around 15 minutes later. "You will then see footage of them coming back down the street, that was the last time Ms Butler was seen alive," he said.
Mr O'Kelly said the evidence will be that Ms Butler had lived in her home on Maudlin Street for many years and her daughter lived with her until 2008 before she moved out. The deceased also had a sister who lived in Kilkenny.
The barrister said neither Ms Butler's sister nor her daughter had seen her after March 20th. They both noticed she was not around and had gone to her house, but neither of them got an answer. "Ms Butler was then found there on March 25th as a result of the phone call being traced back to Mr Rowe," he concluded.
The trial continues on Tuesday afternoon before Ms Justice Karen O'Connor and a jury of seven men and five women. It is expected to last 10 days.
