A 25-year-old man admitted to gardaí that he killed Laois nanny Aoife Phelan because he was afraid she was going to scupper his chances with his ex-girlfriend.
Robert Corbet of Sheffield Cross, Portlaoise denies murder but admits the 30-year-old's manslaughter on a date in October or November 2012.
Robert Corbet originally told detectives that he'd punched Aoife Phelan to death and dumped her body in a river.
However on November 7, 2012, her remains were found buried in a barrel on the grounds of his family home.
In a revised statement he said they were arguing in the garage when he snapped and grabbed her neck with his forearm, before tying a black sack over her head and dumping her body in an empty barrel.
He said she had threatened to ruin his life if he didn't go out with her and go along with her pregnancy.
He agreed that when he had Aoife in his grip he wanted her dead and that he believed she was a complication that would scupper his chances with his ex-girlfriend, who was the love of his life.