A prosecution lawyer in the trial of a Galway woman accused of murdering her pensioner neighbour has claimed the accused beat the 81-year-old woman to death after drinking heavily and then sexually assaulted the dead woman in an attempt to cover her tracks.
Karen Walsh, 45, who lived beside the murder victim Maire Rankin in Newry, Co Down, admits to being in the pensioner’s home on Christmas Eve 2008.
However, Ms Walsh claims the elderly woman was still alive when she left.
Mrs Rankin’s naked body was found in the bedroom of her home on Christmas morning 2008.
Ms Walsh denied the allegations made to her by the prosecution and said she could not have been nicer to Mrs Rankin.
The trial continues in Belfast and is expected to conclude early next week.
