By Frank Greaney
The State Pathologist has told a murder trial that a 71-year-old woman found dead in her home in Kilkenny two years ago died from asphyxia.
Trevor Rowe, of Abbey Street, Kilkenny, denies murdering Anne Butler, who also suffered blunt force trauma to the head and had multiple stab wounds.
On March 25th 2020, Gardaí received a number of anonymous calls from a man who claimed to have killed a woman in a house behind a hotel in Kilkenny city.
The calls were traced back to the accused, Trevor Rowe, who led Gardaí to Anne Butler’s door, but denies murdering her five days beforehand.
The State Pathologist, Dr Linda Mulligan, performed the post-mortem and concluded that Anne died from asphyxia.
She said a piece of hard paper or cardboard found in the back of Anne’s mouth would have obstructed her airwaves.
She also had a potentially fatal cut to the throat as well as multiple stab wounds to her body.
The prosecution is expected to formally close its case when the trial resumes tomorrow.
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