Witness says murder accused told her of attack
A neighbour of a 22-year-old Cork man on trial for the rape and murder of beautician Rachel Kiely has claimed the accused told him the dead woman had been “beaten and raped” on the evening her body was found.
Josephine McCoy was giving evidence in the trial of a then 16-year-old local man who denies raping and murdering Ms Kiely at the Regional Park in Ballincollig on October 26, 2000.
He has admitted her manslaughter. Mrs McCoy agreed with Patrick J McCarthy SC, prosecuting, that she had seen an ambulance in the Regional Park at around 8.30pm.
Between then and 8.45pm she said she met the accused and asked him if he knew what had happened.
“He just said Rachel Kiely was beaten and raped,” she said. Asked by Brendan Grehan SC, defending, whether she was aware that that was the speculation at the time and that another witness, Anthony McCullagh, had said the same thing in a local chip shop she replied: “No, not at the time.”
However the witness admitted that she had not made a statement to gardaí about this alleged comment until November 13, 2000.
“I take it from that that it didn’t strike you as particularly odd or sinister what was said at the time.
"Otherwise you would have brought it to the attention of gardaí,” Mr Grehan said. “At the time we were just in complete shock,” the witness replied.
She accepted that November 13 was after the accused had been charged in connection with Ms Kiely’s death.
At the conclusion of today's brief hearing Mr Justice Barry White told the jury the State has a problem as “one of their witnesses is indisposed”.
He told the jury to return to hear the case on Wednesday morning.
