A 40-year-old man accused of murdering a woman in Co Wicklow two years ago told gardaí it was like having an out-of-body experience or watching a horror movie as he hit her on the head with a hammer.
Roy Webster, from Ashbree, Ashford in Co Wicklow, has admitted the manslaughter of Anne Shortall in April 2015 but has pleaded not guilty to her murder.
Warning: This story contains graphic details
He said it was like she had him against a wall and he had nowhere else to go.
Mr Webster claimed he snapped after Ms Shortall claimed she was pregnant and threatened to tell his wife about their "one-night stand" if he did not give her £6,500 for an abortion.
The court heard gardaí told Mr Webster after he had confessed to killing her that the post-mortem results showed she was not pregnant. He replied: "I f***ing knew it".
The court heard details of Mr Webster's interviews with gardaí after he had broken down and confessed to killing Ms Shortall.
He described how he had known Ms Shortall to see but got talking to her on a night out with friends in Wicklow in December 2014. He ended up going back to the apartment where she lived and having sex.
He said Ms Shortall tried to get in contact with him on a number of occasions after that but as far as he was concerned it was a one-night stand.
On one occasion, he said she phoned his landline in the early hours of the morning while he was feeding his newborn baby.
He said he thought she was "just putting in a booty call".
Eventually, he said, she texted him to tell him she was pregnant.
He met her on 2 April and she told him she needed £6,500 to have an abortion.
He asked her to meet him the following day and provide him with proof that she was pregnant, and he would see what he could do.
The following day, he said he arranged to meet her. She got into his van and they drove for a bit.
He said she did not have any proof that she was pregnant and when she realised he did not have any money, she got out of his van and told him she would sort it out herself.
He said he got out to reason with her and she began threatening him that she was going to start phoning his wife.
He said he was thinking "this can't be happening" and he was pleading with her not to as he had a wife, child and newborn baby but he said she told him she did not give a s***.
Mr Webster told gardaí his head was spinning and he could just see his whole world crashing down.
He said she had him backed against a wall and was going to ruin him and his family.
He opened the door of his van, he said, grabbed a hammer and hit Ms Shortall on her forehead.
He said she fell back into the van but was still conscious and told him she would ruin him.
He said it was like looking down at himself doing it. He hit her again and it was like looking at someone else doing it.
He said blood was pouring out of her head. He could not believe how much there was.
He said it was like watching a horror movie and told gardaí he hit her three or four times.
Mr Webster said he was scared and petrified at what he had done. He said she had him against a wall and he had nowhere else to go.
He said he was scared about what she had threatened to do to him.
Afterwards, Mr Webster taped Ms Shortall's head and hands.
He said he drove to a local shop and then drove home with Ms Shortall's body in his car.
He said he did not know if she was dead or alive and thought he was out of his mind.
He said his intention at the time had not been to kill her. He said it was a mixture of fear and panic and she must have driven him to snapping point.
He denied that he had never intended to give her money and had intended to kill her.
He said that never crossed his mind and he was not brought up that way.
When he got home Mr Webster said it was like he came back to himself and everything was back to normal - like a switch had turned off.
He had a cup of coffee, had dinner, played with his daughter and fed his young baby.
He had a glass of wine and fell asleep on the couch.
Later on he said he got calls and texts from Ms Shortall's daughters wondering if she was with him.
But he said his wife was with him and he told her it was just a wrong number and put his phone on silent.
The following day he said he went shopping for his baby, with his wife in Arklow.
Later that evening, he opened his van and realised he would have to take Ms Shortall's body out.
He said he could not believe she was so stiff already.
He told gardaí he had no idea what he had intended to do with the body.
He admitted Ms Shortall could have been alive as he drove home but it was just natural instinct to go home.
