Scarlett Faulkner feared ex-wife of boyfriend before fatal attack in Tipperary
A witness told the Central Criminal Court that Scarlett Faulkner was "terrified" of her new boyfriend's ex-wife hours before she was beaten to death in Co Tipperary.
Murder trial hears victim's fear in final hours before Birdhill attack
Scarlett Faulkner told a friend she was "terrified" of her new boyfriend's ex-wife and believed the woman was "going to do something bad to her" in the hours before she was beaten to death, the Central Criminal Court heard on Wednesday, irishexaminer.com reports.
A witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Ms Faulkner and her new boyfriend visited her Limerick City apartment on 21 March — the same day Ms Faulkner sustained the injuries that led to her death. Speaking to prosecutor Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing, she said Ms Faulkner described her new relationship and expressed certainty that her boyfriend's ex-wife intended her harm.
A separate eyewitness, Niamh Floyd, told the court she was a passenger in a car passing the scene of the alleged murder when she saw a woman running toward the vehicle. Ms Floyd described the woman grabbing onto the car's wing mirror as her partner drove away. Glancing through the rear window, she saw a figure moving toward the woman while holding what may have been a weapon. She said she looked away because she "didn't want to see what was going to happen after that." Ms Floyd and her partner subsequently contacted the emergency services, reporting that someone may have been injured and that an ambulance might be required.
The prosecution's case is that the 41-year-old accused used a vehicle to ram her ex-husband's van off the road that evening, after which a then 16-year-old girl beat Ms Faulkner to death with a metal pole. Opening the trial earlier this week, Mr Ó Dúnlaing told the jury that although all physical injuries to Ms Faulkner were inflicted by the teenager, both accused participated in a joint enterprise to kill or cause serious harm. He said they had "hunted down" the former husband and Ms Faulkner with the intention of causing serious harm to both.
Ms Faulkner, aged 28, died on 13 April following the incident at Birdhill, Co Tipperary, on 21 March.
The now 17-year-old, who cannot be identified as she is a minor, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. Her adult co-accused has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Faulkner. She also faces charges of burglary, entering a building as a trespasser, and causing criminal damage at an address in Co Tipperary on 20 March, as well as a further burglary charge and a charge of assault causing harm at a Limerick address on 21 March, to all of which she pleaded not guilty.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo and a jury of eight men and four women.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)