A handwritten note in which the writer asked for forgiveness for what he had done was found in a bedroom of a home in Cork where a mother of one was discovered "cold and stiff to the touch" in a "blood-soaked bed", the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Regin Parithapara Rajan, 43, of Kerala in India, is on trial, charged with the murder of his wife Deepa Dinamani.
The 38-year-old chartered accountant was found dead by members of the Armed Support Unit when they went to her family home at Cardinal Court in Wilton, Cork city on 14 July 2023.
Mr Rajan and Ms Dinamani had moved to Ireland from India with their young son four months earlier.
Crime scene examiner Detective Garda John Paul Twomey told the trial that he visited the house in Wilton the day after Ms Dinamani was found dead.
Det Gda Twomey said that a notebook seized from the property contained a note which read: "I love you so much. Please forgive me for what I did as your mum was having something ... and his name was Jay."
Det Gda Twomey told the jury that the note was difficult to read. He read out what he could decipher.
He stated that he seized and bagged amongst other items a knife, a wedding ring, a broken gold necklace and a bloodied t-shirt and shorts. He said that he took various swabs from the body of the deceased.
'Potential murder weapon'
Meanwhile, CCTV evidence was shown of what Detective Garda Dave Hickey described as the buying of the "potential murder weapon" two days before Ms Dinamani was discovered dead in her home.
Det Gda Hickey said CCTV from Tesco in Wilton Shopping Centre was examined and Mr Rajan was captured buying a Go Cook carving knife, a bottle of whiskey and a soft drink.
He said that Mr Rajan brought a bag for life to the supermarket on the afternoon of 12 July 2023 and used a Tesco club card when he was purchasing the items.
Meanwhile, Derek Foley, call handler at the garda control room in Anglesea Street in Cork, gave evidence of having received an emergency call at 9.55pm on 14 July 2023. He said that he asked the caller for his name and eircode.
He said the man identified himself as Regin Rajan and gave an eircode for a property at Cardinal Court in Wilton in Cork.
Mr Foley told the jury that the caller said that he had killed his wife.
"He said that he wanted the guards to come around and arrest him as he had killed his wife."
Mr Foley asked the caller if there was anybody else in the property and the man replied that his five-year-old son was at home.
Mr Foley said that he offered to stay on the line until gardaí arrived. However, the caller opted not to stay on the line. A recording of the 999 call was played to the jury.
Meanwhile, Detective Garda Patrick O'Toole of the ASU said that Ms Dimanani was found dead in an upstairs front bedroom of her home in Wilton shortly after 10pm on 14 July 2023.
He said that she was wrapped in a duvet on a bed.
Det Gda O’Toole said that she was on her left side facing towards the window of the bedroom.
"We rolled her on to her back. I checked for pulse. She was cold to touch. There was a lot of blood in her hair. Congealed blood.
"She was naked. It looked like she had been there some time. Her limbs were quite rigid. I observed that there was a large knife in the room."
Detective Garda Tony Devane of the ASU accompanied Det Gda O’Toole at the scene. He said when they arrived at the house, Mr Rajan complied with his instructions to get on his knees and to put his hands behind his neck.
Mr Rajan was handcuffed. Det Gda Devane said that he asked Mr Rajan if there was anybody else in the house but that his reply was "incoherent" and "low".
Detective Sergeant Michelle O’Leary of the Serious Crimes Unit said that when she arrived at the property at 10.07pm on 14 July 2023 she observed that the bed where Ms Dimanani was found was "blood soaked".
"The female had a significant wound to her neck. There was significant blood on her person. The female was partially naked with a top pulled up tangled to her neck. It was quite clear she was deceased."
Philip Hayes, a paramedic from the Kinsale Road Ambulance Station in Cork, said that when he attended the scene that evening he noted that rigor mortis had set in. He checked for signs of life but Ms Dimanani was "cold and stiff to the touch".
The trial continues tomorrow before Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford and a jury of five men and seven women.
