A friend of Joe O'Reilly has told the Central Criminal Court that Mr O'Reilly confided in him that he was having marital difficulties.
Mr O'Reilly denies murdering his wife Rachel at their home in The Naul, Co Dublin on 4 October 2004.
John Austin told the court he met Mr O'Reilly in 2003 while playing on a softball team. He said they started to become close friends.
Mr Austin told the court that Joe O'Reilly confided in him that there were some marital difficulties and he and Rachel were sleeping in separate bedrooms.
The Court heard that Mr O'Reilly had discussed with Mr Austin the possibility of moving out of his house in The Naul and into an apartment in Balbriggan, so he could be near to his children. Mr Austin said he would categorise Mr O'Reilly as a very caring father.
Mr Austin also gave evidence about a dinner party he held at his partner's home on the 8 September 2004, less than a month before Rachel was killed.
He said Mr O'Reilly was present at the dinner party along with a woman called Nikki Pelley. He said Mr O'Reilly and Ms Pelley were 'close friends'.
When he was asked how close they were, he said he did not have any conversation about how close they were. He said he did not see any intimacy between them. But when asked if he thought they were platonic friends, Mr Austin said 'no'.
Rachel's natural mother, Teresa Lowe, also gave evidence. She said she was 17 years old when she gave birth to Rachel and subsequently gave her up for adoption. She said she originally gave her the name 'Teresa Green'.
She said in 1991, Rachel made contact with her through social workers and they had seen each other on-and-off since then. Rachel had also met Ms Lowe's children, Thomas and Patrick.
Ms O'Reilly's birth brother told the jury he did not see or speak to his sister on the day of the killing.
Thomas Lowe said the last contact he had with Rachel was the day before her murder.
Mr Lowe was asked about blood matching his found on the washing machine in the O'Reillys' utility room.
He said he cut his hand badly with a saw while putting down decking for Rachel and Joe.
Mr Lowe said the first person to see him that day was a neighbour who called to his house collecting money for the local church at about 2.00pm.
At 5pm, he said Joe O' Reilly called him to tell him Rachel was murdered.
