Renars Veigulis pleads not guilty to murder charge

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Renars Veigulis pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Rita Apine. The charge concerns her death at their home in Freshford, County Kilkenny, on or about 14 May 2017.

The proceedings were reported on 22 November 2018. The trial was continuing before a jury, with Ms Justice Tara Burns presiding.

Veigulis maintained that his partner fell down the stairs. State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan told the court that Apine’s injuries were not consistent with a simple fall down the stairs. She concluded that Apine died from massive blood loss caused by blunt force trauma to the head.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Michael Bowman SC, Dr Mulligan accepted that some injuries were consistent with a fall. She said, however, that direct impact to both eye areas could not easily be explained by a fall. She also said a fall could not be excluded as the cause of bruising to the forearms and legs, and accepted that bars of the child-safety gate might have caused tramline bruising.

Dr Mulligan said she attended the home on 15 May 2017 and described extensive blood staining in the hallway. The jury also heard evidence of messages between the couple. Under cross-examination, Garda Michael Corcoran agreed that the messages were not entirely representative of their relationship and that other exchanges contained pleasantries.