Roy Webster pleads not guilty to murder as trial continues

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

Roy Webster pleaded not guilty to the murder of Anne Shortall and guilty to her manslaughter. The State did not accept his manslaughter plea.

The case concerned Shortall’s death at the Murrough, Co Wicklow, on 3 April 2015. The proceedings were reported on 10 March 2017.

Detective Garda Owen Martin told the court that Webster first gave a formal statement to gardaí on 6 April. Shortall had gone missing the previous Friday, and text messages on her phone linked Webster to her.

Detective Sergeant Fergus O’Brien told the court that, on 7 April, Webster’s wife confronted him about Shortall’s disappearance. O’Brien said Webster cried and admitted hitting her with a hammer. Webster also said her body was in their workshop.

The report said Webster later gave a full statement in which he said Shortall had put him under pressure and had been threatening him. He said he got out of his van, grabbed a hammer and hit her. He said he kept her body in the van that Friday and moved it to the workshop the following day.

The trial was continuing before Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.