‘I should have been wishing her happy birthday, instead I put flowers on her grave’
Son’s agony after Roy Webster found guilty of murder
ROY Webster has been found guilty of murdering Anne Shortall whom he battered to death with a hammer after she threatened to tell his wife about their one-night stand.
Webster, 40, of Ashbree, Ashford, Co. Wicklow was found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict of the murder at The Murrough near Wicklow Town on April 3, 2015.
He killed Anne Shortall when she threatened to tell his wife about the encounter they had the previous Christmas – and sought money from him for an abortion – claiming, untruthfully, that she was pregnant.
Before sentencing, presiding Judge Patrick McCarthy heard brief statements by each of Anne Shortall’s children, Alanna, Emma and David.
In a written statement read to the court by Alanna, David said: ‘On Wednesday I should have been embracing my mother with open arms and saying “happy birthday”. Instead I put flowers on her grave.’
Emma said she had lost her mam, best friend and confidante. She added: ‘There is a void in my life that can never be filled.’
Alanna said the person she relied on most was taken away ‘suddenly and violently. My mother was not meant to die, her life was taken from her. She will never get to see her grandchildren grow up,’ she said.
Anne’s siblings and close family penned a joint statement revealing Anne’s brother James became so depressed by what had happened that he took his own life seven weeks after her brutal murder. ‘Our family will never be the same,’ they said.
Webster’s barrister Brendan Grehan SC then stood up to tell the court that his client wanted to say sorry to all who had been affected, especially Anne’s children and his own family. He added that while he ‘bitterly regrets’ what happened, ‘it was never his intention to injure her, much less kill her’.
He had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Anne Shortall. His plea was not accepted by the State. Judge McCarthy sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Webster shook his head in disbelief when the verdict was read. He wept before the judge asked him to stand while he passed sentence.
As prison officers brought him from court one final time he mouthed ‘sorry’ in the direction of the Shortall family.
His sentence was backdated to April 7, 2015 when he first went into custody.
Roy Webster met Anne Shortall at The Forge, a busy pub in Wicklow Town, during a Christmas night out on December 20, 2014 and went back to her house where they had intercourse. He went home and lied to his wife Sinéad, who was pregnant with their second child, that he had slept on a friend’s couch.
He told gardaí he thought that was the end of it and that he would get on with his life.
The court heard that at that time in late 2014 and early 2015 Anne Shortall, a separated mother of three grown-up children, was having money problems. She had not worked for about ten years and her rent allowance had been cut in mid2014. Her husband, who had previously given her money to help with the care of their three children, had started giving the money directly to their children.
At the time of her death, Anne owed more than €2,000 in bills and €1,800 in rent arrears. In March she had been served an eviction notice for April 9. She devised a plan to extract money from Webster by telling him she was pregnant and needed Stg£6,500 for an abortion.
Defence barrister Brendan Grehan SC argued that after meeting up, his client had lost control having been provoked by Ms Shortall. Judge McCarthy explained to the jury that if a person who kills does so having been provoked to the point where they have a total loss of self control, the correct verdict should be manslaughter. The jury decided the prosecution had proven he knew what he was doing and intended to kill or cause serious injury when he hit Anne Shortall, so they found him guilty of murder.
Jury reached unanimous verdict
He knew what he was doing