A person accused of murdering his spouse by stabbing her within the throat had beforehand been pressured to go away Tallaght in Dublin after he used a Samurai sword to stab his neighbour throughout a battle, the Central Legal Court docket has heard.
Adam Ward (23), the son of the accused man Alan Ward and the deceased Catherine Ward, mentioned his father collected knives which he displayed on the mantle piece and on partitions all through their house.
Following the stabbing, Adam mentioned his father left the Tallaght space and the remainder of the household adopted after their home windows had been smashed in and acid was thrown on their automotive. Adam mentioned he stopped chatting with his father as he was aggravated at having to go away the world the place he had grown up and the place his mates lived.
Mr Ward additionally instructed the trial that his dad and mom usually argued, would push and drag each other, and generally his father would punch his mom. He mentioned his father wouldn’t let his mom do the issues she needed and he thought she “felt trapped”. He mentioned the accused “antagonised” his mom and through arguments would insult her and put her down.
Adam additionally recalled the evening his mom died. He mentioned he had been taking part in Ps in his room when he heard a bang from his mom’s bed room. When he went to search out out what was taking place he mentioned his father swiped at him with a blade, instructed him: “Get the f**okay away from me or I’m going to kill you,” and lunged in the direction of him with the knife. The witness mentioned he moved out of the best way of the blade and ran downstairs and out onto the road to a gaggle of neighbours who referred to as gardaí.
A garda who was current when Alan Ward was arrested minutes after the deadly stabbing, mentioned she overheard the accused say: “I’m sorry, we had a row. I really like her.” He additionally mentioned: “I’m sorry. I stabbed her. We had a row. We’re all the time combating.” He instructed gardaíthat his spouse hit him and after he requested her to cease hitting him, she struck him within the face with a bottle. He added; “I hope she’s not lifeless. I didn’t imply to do it.”
Alan Ward (54) has pleaded not responsible to the homicide of his spouse Catherine Ward (41) at their house on Greenfort Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 on March 1st, 2019. He has additionally pleaded not responsible to an offence of creating a risk to kill or trigger severe hurt to Adam Ward, intending him to consider that the risk could be carried out and has pleaded not responsible to trying to stab Adam Ward on the identical date.
Adam Ward instructed prosecuting counsel Bernard Condon SC that he grew up in Killinarden in Tallaght however they moved to Clondalkin after the incident with the Samurai sword.
He mentioned there have been all the time “issues and fights” between his dad and mom. When the arguments turned bodily it was normally “pushing and dragging,” he mentioned, however “there have been instances Alan would punch my mom”. His father had stopped working some years earlier, he mentioned including: “It bought to my ma. She needed to present us the very best and it was laborious with no cash and that began a number of the arguments.”
Adam mentioned he additionally felt that his father would antagonise his mom and when she tried to get away he would observe her. “He would push her till she left after which he wouldn’t go away her alone,” he mentioned. When she needed to exit with mates he wouldn’t let her, the witness mentioned, and when she went to the retailers he would go together with her. He mentioned: “I don’t know what it was, he didn’t belief her or no matter.”
Drunk
He mentioned each his dad and mom drank and described his mom as a “joyful drunk” who would wish to dance and have amusing. His father, he mentioned, was “sloppy” when he drank and would “get sick, fall over, simply go too far.”
In 2017, he mentioned his father had a stroke which affected his speech and required him to attend courses to discover ways to discuss. He added: “That’s what we thought, however we’d hear him speaking to the neighbours correctly. His speech wasn’t all the time jumbled. When he was chatting with the neighbours my ma would say, ‘he’s talking completely.‘”
He remembered his mom leaving the household house 15 to twenty instances following arguments over time however she would all the time come again. By March 2019 his father was sleeping within the sitting room and his mom slept in an upstairs bed room.
On the evening of his mom’s dying, Adamsaid he was in his personal room upstairs taking part in his Ps when he heard a bang. He mentioned he thought his dad and mom had been combating and when he went out to the touchdown to examine he noticed his father standing within the doorway to his mom’s bed room.
He couldn’t see contained in the room however noticed his father “pushing downwards”. Adam put his hand on his father’s shoulder and mentioned: “What are you doing?” When his father turned, Adam mentioned he seen a small blade in his hand however he couldn’t see the deal with. He remembered his father saying one thing like: “Get the f**okay away from me or I’m going to kill you.” He mentioned his father “swiped” at him with the blade, throughout from Adam’s proper shoulder to left hip, after which “lunged” at him with the knife.
He mentioned: “I used to be simply confused. I simply reacted, I pushed him away with my arms and I believe that’s why I didn’t get stabbed. I fell towards the wall. I used to be clearly shocked and stumbling and I ran down the steps.” He mentioned his father adopted him so he shortly unlocked the entrance door and ran exterior. He noticed three individuals and ran in the direction of them and instructed them what had occurred. When he seemed again he noticed his father within the entrance backyard. He shouted at his father and his father shouted again.
Samurai
Below cross-examination the witness instructed Giollaiosa O’Lideadha SC, for the defence, that his dad and mom weren’t heavy drinkers however would drink a 700ml bottle of vodka between them over two nights whereas watching tv collectively. He additional agreed that in his assertion to gardai he mentioned that after the incident with the Samurai sword he thought his father “may do it once more however simply by no means thought he wold do it to my ma.”
He disagreed with a suggestion that his father’s actions in the direction of him on the evening had been only a reflection of anger or rage. He mentioned: “There was all the time rigidity between us so I believe it was intentional. I don’t suppose it was simply rage.” He mentioned he was not pleasant together with his father because the incident with the sword and didn’t communicate to him. He agreed that his mom had every so often hit his father however mentioned that occurred “very not often”. He additional agreed that his mom was “pissed off” about his father not working.
When Mr O’Lideadha put it to him that he couldn’t say what began the argument on the evening of his mom’s dying, he replied: “I understand how my mam is and I understand how he would communicate to her. The conversations they might have, the place he could be insulting her and placing her down.” He mentioned his mom wasn’t allowed to do the issues she needed. “I believe she simply felt trapped,” he mentioned.
Adam’s brother Martin Ward (24) instructed Mr Condon that his dad and mom would argue however “more often than not it was grand”. His father’s stroke, he mentioned, affected everybody within the household however his father was nonetheless “properly sufficient”. He mentioned there have been bodily arguments between them however they weren’t one-sided. He added: “They’d argue after which that may be the tip of it.” He remembered an event when gardai had been referred to as after his mom threw one thing at his father and chased him up the steps.
On the evening his mom died, he mentioned his dad and mom appeared “grand” and he didn’t sense something flawed. He went to mattress and awoke when gardai got here into his room. As he walked downstairs he seen blood on the steps.
‘I’m sorry’
Garda Kerry Harmon mentioned that she arrived on the home at about 12.30am. Mr Ward was in his backyard and he or she overheard him say: “I’m sorry, we had a row, I really like her.” He appeared calm at that time, she mentioned. After he was cautioned by one other garda, Gda Harmon heard Mr Ward say: “I’m sorry. I stabbed her. We had a row. we’re all the time combating.” She additionally famous him saying: “She hit me, I used to be telling her to cease hitting me. She picked up a bottle.” Gda Harmon remembered that Mr Ward pointed to his face to indicate the place he had been hit, however she didn’t see any apparent bruising. She heard him say that he picked up a knife and stabbed her. He added: “I hope she’s not lifeless. I didn’t imply to do it.”
At that time he turned incoherent and upset, repeating phrases that didn’t make any sense, the garda mentioned. The witness instructed Mr O’Lideadha that she didn’t know Mr Ward earlier than this incident and had by no means heard him communicate earlier than. She agreed that he was agitated earlier than the warning was issued and have become extra agitated as issues went on.
The trial continues in entrance of Mr Justice Tony Hunt and a jury of 9 males and three ladies.