Murder accused ‘knew that man could not swim’
A 29-YEAR-OLD WOMAN has gone on trial charged with murdering her colleague in Wicklow by driving him into a deep harbour, where he drowned.
The prosecutor told the jury that Marta Herda could swim, and knew that the deceased could not, when she drove her car through the crash barriers at South Quay, Arklow.
The Polish waitress, with an address at Pairc Na Saile, Emoclew Road, Arklow, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 31-year-old Csaba Orsas on March 26, 2013.
Senior counsel Brendan Grehan, prosecuting, opened the case to the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday morning. He said the State’s case was that the deceased, a Hungarian, was the frontseat passenger in a car deliberately driven over the harbour and into the sea shortly before 6 a.m. that Tuesday. It was the prosecution case that Marta Herda was the driver, he added.
He said the incident happened at the harbour wall in Arklow, where the Avoca river flowed into the sea. ‘It’s tidal, fast flowing, very deep water that allows large boats to come in,’ he said.
Mr Grehan said that a witness told gardaí that he heard a car coming through the harbour at speed. The witness heard distressed screaming a short time later and ‘saw the accused with her wet clothes stuck to her’.
Mr Grehan said that the road leading to the water was ‘almost like a runway in terms of its dimensions’. He explained that there was a barrier at the end of this to prevent cars driving into the sea. There was an electrical box in the centre and this was also protected by a barrier.
‘ The evidence will show the car drove through both barriers into the sea,’ he said. ‘ The prosecution says it had to be driven at great speed.’
The jury was told that Ms Herda was taken to hospital and her car recovered from the water, while Mr Orsas’s body was found on a beach two miles away at lunchtime. A post-mortem exam found he died due to drowning and not due to injuries from the crash.
‘ The objective evidence suggests that Marta Herda, in a deliberate act, drove through those barriers,’ said Mr Grehan. ‘ The driver’s window was down, Marta Herda could swim, the deceased could not and Marta Herda was aware of that.’
Mr Orsas had lived at Brookview Court in Arklow and worked at the Brook Lodge Hotel in Wicklow. Ms Herda had been working as a part-time waitress at the same hotel, he said.
Mr Grehan said that one matter in particular would stand out for the jury: how the deceased came to be a passenger in her car shortly before 6 a.m. He said the jury would hear telephone phone evidence. ‘It was quite clear Marta Herda was able to escape,’ he said. Mr Grehan said that the evidence would lead the jury to conclude that she was guilty of murdering Mr Orsas.
The trial is expected to last three weeks before Mr Justice McCarthy and a jury of eight men and four women. DESPITE SOME bad weather, members of a number of local Lions clubs joined forces recently to walk the cliff walk between Bray and Greystones.
Some of the group started their journey in Bray, others in Greystones, and they met along the way. About 40 people participated in the walk. Danny Bohan of Bray Lions said that there are a number of sponsorship cards still out, and to date they have raised €2,000.
While they were unlucky with the weather on the day, it did dry up, and walkers said they enjoyed the outing very much.
Clubs from Killiney, Leopardstown, Dun Laoghaire, Bray, Greystones, Wicklow and Bray took part in the event as part of their contribution towards a €25,000 playground at Marino school. Half of the proceeds from the walk were donated to Open Door Day Care Centre
Principal of Marino Oonagh Kenny and her family took part in the sponsored walk. Marino community special school in Bray is looking forward to getting its new playground in September, following months of fundraising work by the zone Lions clubs.
The specialised playground facility will support therapeutic intervention and learning. It will include a turtle and whale springer, soft play areas, and an integrated slide structure.