‘I have murdered my wife.. I hit her with a hammer’
Jury played husband’s 999 call
A 999 call made by a man accused of murdering his wife with a hammer was played to a jury yesterday.
Gary Alexander Baird, 64, is standing trial at Belfast Crown Court on a charge of murdering 60-year old Susan in their Windermere Road home in the south of the city on August 16, 2020.
Whilst he has denied the charge, the former BBC security guard had pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter but this plea has not been accepted by the prosecution.
During the second day of the trial, the jury heard an 11-minute long 999 call made by Baird at 4.51pm on Sunday August 16, 2020. After telling the operator his name and address, Baird said: “I have just murdered my wife. I hit her with a hammer.”
The operator then asked him “what have you actually done there, talk to me through it” and he replied “I murdered her”.
After repeating that he hit her with a hammer, Baird was asked by the operator “is she definitely dead?” to which he answered “yes”.
He was then asked a series of questions and either replied, “I don’t know” or failed to respond.
At one point the operator can be heard saying “hello, hello, are you still on the line there?” and after she said “can you talk to me please” he can be heard saying “voices in my head”.
The audio recording ended when police arrived at his home.
The jury of five men and seven women also heard evidence from police officers and paramedics. They also watched footage from a body camera worn by one of the first police officers at the scene. A constable was called to the witness box and confirmed he arrived at the Bairds’ home just after 5pm. He said that after entering the property through an unlocked front door, he observed a blood-soaked Baird standing in the kitchen.
Crown prosecutor Laura Ivers queried if he observed anything else and the constable said he became aware of a woman on a sofa in the living room with significant head injuries.
When asked if he believed this woman was deceased, he said: “Yes. I only saw her very briefly but it immediately appeared to me that she was deceased.” The officer was then asked what happened next and he said he arrested Baird on suspicion of murder.
He also confirmed that whilst placing the accused in a police vehicle, he realised Baird was bleeding from a head wound which would require medical attention.
The jury has already heard that when questioned about this head wound at a later stage, the accused said, “I did this to myself ”.
Police footage of a badly bleeding Baird being put into the police car was played to the jury.
The clip, which lasted around six minutes, was taken from a body-worn camera and captured Baird sitting handcuffed in the back of the car.
A paramedic who gave evidence from the witness box said he attended the scene at around 5pm. Due to Baird’s head wound, it was agreed that he needed medical treatment and the paramedic confirmed he took Baird, via ambulance, to hospital.
At hearing.