Man accused of murder told gardaí he 'went ballistic' on night of killing

The trial of Richard Burke for the murder of Jasmine McMonagle in her home in Donegal four years ago has heard how he told gardaí he "went ballistic" on the night in question.

Richard Burke, aged 32, of Killygordon, Co Donegal, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty of manslaughter.

The Central Criminal Court, sitting in Monaghan, heard today that there is "no dispute" between the parties in the case about the evidence of what happened.

Mr Burke told gardaí he punched and strangled Ms McMonagle with a rope in the kitchen of her home on 4 January 2019.

Transcripts of three interviews he gave following his arrest were read to the court today.

He said that they had a "heated moment" after he confronted Ms McMonagle about cheating allegations.

Mr Burke said Ms McMonagle rang gardaí and that he "went ballistic". He told them that he punched the 28-year-old woman and strangled her with a rope.

Mr Burke said he had "no control", that he "blanked" out and did not realise what he had done until he came around when gardaí knocked on the window.

When asked by gardaí how many times Jasmine McMonagle had been hit, the court heard he replied "how long is a piece of string".

He told them that he killed her, that he did not want to, and that he loved her. The trial heard that Mr Burke told gardaí that he hated violence against women.

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The trial heard that Mr Burke worked as a chef, a barman and a cobbler and had previously been homeless.

When gardaí arrived to the scene on 4 January, the trial heard the accused told them his name was Charlie Thatcher.

During a later interview, Mr Burke said he also went by this name. He told them he held a high-up position, that he owned banks in this country, and was a very skilled fighter who had gone one-on-one with UFC world champions.

Under questioning by defence counsel, Sergeant Brendan McCann of Ballybofey Garda Station, agreed that in a separate incident the previous year when gardaí had been called, they witnessed Mr Burke behaving erratically.

The court heard that gardaí were concerned and engaged Section 12 of the Mental Health Act, before Mr Burke later became an inpatient in a psychiatric unit.

The trial also heard that THC was found in a sample of Richard Burke's urine taken after his arrest, and that this was indicative of cannabis consumption.

Sergeant McCann agreed that gardaí arrived at the scene at Forest Park in Killygordon within 20 minutes of Ms McMonagle's call to gardaí.

The gardaí attempted to enter through the rear door of the house when Mr Burke, who was carrying a meat cleaver and with blood stains on his clothes, appeared.

Gardaí made unsuccessful attempts to pepper spray the man and had to retreat when Mr Burke began swinging the meat cleaver at them.

More gardaí, the armed support unit and a crisis negotiator later arrived on the scene.

The court heard that one garda member reported seeing a pool of blood and a person's leg lying on the ground inside the house through a window.

Mr Burke told the garda negotiator that there were two children in bed in the house and that Ms McMonagle was sleeping. He said he would not wake her up and that it was a mistake they were there.

The jury of seven women and five men were told that after gardaí observed a child at a front window upstairs, a decision was taken to make an "immediate and dynamic forced entry" to the house.

When approached by gardaí, one member was confronted by Mr Burke with a glass hammer.

The court heard that after he failed to desist, a taser was used on Mr Burke.

Sergeant McCann agreed that a search of his person recovered a knife and two phones from Mr Burke's jacket - one was his own, and the other belonged to Ms McMonagle.

The court heard upon entering the house, it was clear that Ms McMonagle was deceased.

The trial today heard that a post mortem was carried out by State Pathologist Linda Mulligan and that cause of death was determined to be ligature strangulation and multiple traumatic injuries to the head and trunk.

The case will continue before the Central Criminal Court sitting in Monaghan tomorrow.