A man on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend told gardaí that he gave her "six or seven hard digs" but thought she’d just wake up in the morning with a few marks.
The jury has been hearing what Daniel Murtagh, of Melrose Grove, Bawnogue, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, said during interviews conducted before she died in hospital.
Nadine Lott died three days after suffering what was described as a “sustained and violent attack” involving blunt and sharp force trauma.
Her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Murtagh, has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter, but denies murdering her in her home in Arklow, Co Wicklow just before Christmas 2019.
On the way to Wicklow Garda Station following his arrest, the court heard he kept asking if Nadine was still alive. She was at that stage.
During his interviews, he said they had a row when she came home from a night out, during which, he claimed she slapped him.
He said he gave her a soft slap back. Later in his interview, he said he gave her six or seven “hard digs.”
“I can hit hard,” he said.
He said he didn’t mean to hurt her though; that he just snapped. “If I wasn’t on drugs, it wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
The trial continues tomorrow.
Reporting by Frank Greaney
