Inspector ‘repeatedly denied involvement’ in his wife’s death
INSPECTOR Darren McKie repeatedly denied any involvement in his wife’s death during police interviews, his trial heard.
He also told investigators that he didn’t know there was a lake in Poynton Park, where Leanne McKie’s body was found, and that his wife had ‘irrational worries’ which he deemed best to ignore, the hearing was told.
The court heard how McKie was interviewed on five occasions, the first time on September 29 and then on September 30.
He is said to have exercised his right to silence during the interviews, and handed the police three prepared statements.
His final interview took place on October 2 when he gave police the third prepared statement and largely exercised his right to silence, the jurors were told.
An audio recording of Insp McKie’s first police interview was played to the jury.
At the start of the interview, the interviewer Detective Constable Kevin Lee asked the suspect: “What can you tell me about the death of your wife?”
Insp McKie replied: “Nothing, nothing. Until officers arrived at the house this morning, I didn’t know she was dead.”
Insp McKie repeated that he did not know what happened to her.
Insp McKie said he had arrived for work at Stretford police station shortly before 7am but returned home at 12.30pm to meet a surveyor who was valuing the house, the court heard.
In the interview the court heard that he picked his children up from school, but became concerned his wife, who was working a 3pm to 11pm shift at GMP, had not contacted him. He said he went out looking for her but didn’t take a car because he had drunk some wine.
In a second police interview carried out the same day, this time lasting just 22 minutes, Insp McKie answered ‘no comment’ to questions put to him and he also declined to mark out on a map the route he said he had taken from his home to the A34, the court was told.
In an interview on September 30, Insp McKie answered ‘no comment’ to most of the questions put to him in the interview but provided a prepared statement in which he said: “I do not know how my wife met her death.”
In the prepared statement, Insp McKie said he had never been to Poynton lake ‘to the best of my knowledge’ and that he didn’t know it had a lake.
He said the family’s debt was ‘solely in relation to the house’ and they were in the processing of ‘consolidating’ their debt, he said in the statement.
In a second prepared statement which was handed to the interviewing officers on October 1, Insp McKie said: “I would describe Leanne as someone who would have irrational worries. By this I mean she would worry about a minor thing disproportionately or where there was no need to worry.
“I would describe her as someone who would fly off the handle easily and regularly.
“I have learnt over 13 years of marriage that the best way of dealing with this is just to ignore her and let her burn herself out.”
In his prepared statement, Insp McKie went on: “I don’t know why she said ‘liar’ [in a text message]. I was in a meeting when I got the texts so I could not respond. I think she then tried to call me several times. I was in a meeting and although I could have answered I chose not to as I knew exactly what she would be like and I have learned to ignore her when she was in one of her moods.
“I know that her seeing the passports and the loan application in black and white would be her having to deal with the debt head-on and would result in her behaviour as I have described as it meant she could not put it out of her mind.”
The jurors heard that Insp McKie continued in his prepared statement: “I came out of the meeting and I recall sending her a text ‘I’m coming home now’ by which I meant she could leave the house before I got back if she wanted.
“She replied ‘I’m scared now’ or something similar which I took to mean that she was worried about the debt and was not suggesting she was scared of me.
“I do not recall any contact with her after that text.”