Court hears victim that was beaten to death with a hammer was not pregnant
The trial of a married man accused of murdering a woman he had cheated on his wife with has heard she was not pregnant when he killed her.
Roy Webster admits beating Anne Shortall to death with a hammer but denies her murder by claiming he had no intention to do so.
Roy Webster was arrested on April 7 2015 at his home at Ashbree in Ashford, Co. Wicklow – a home he shared with his wife and two children.
He told Gardaí he had a one-night stand with Anne Shortall the previous Christmas and that she was looking for money for an abortion after claiming she was pregnant with his child.
He said he picked her up in his van on Good Friday and they drove to The Murrough where she told him she didn't have any proof for him.
He said she got angry when she realised he didn't have any money for her.
He said he pleaded with her not to ruin his life and thought: “this one has me backed to a wall” before he grabbed a hammer and hit her in the head.
The court heard he left her body in his van and carried on as normal that Easter weekend before moving her body to his workshop.
During his second interview, Gardaí told him the post mortem was completed and that Anne wasn’t pregnant. “I f**ing knew it” was his response.
The trial continues.
