Husband recounts moment gun went off as he spoke with rival
A HUSBAND accused of murdering his wife’s lover by shooting him dead has given his version of what happened when the two met at a remote farm near Carmarthen.
Andrew Jones is charged with the murder of missing Carmarthenshire 55-year-old Michael O’leary. Prosecutors say the defendant lured Mr O’leary to the farm before shooting him dead and then concealing his body.
Jones was giving evidence in his defence in the trial at Swansea Crown Court yesterday.
Karim Khalil QC, defending, asked Jones about the arrangements to meet Mr O’leary at Cyncoed Farm, Cwmffrwd, Carmarthen, on Monday, January 27.
Mr Khalil asked what he took with him to meet with Mr O’leary. “A rifle,” Jones said.
“I wanted Mike.”
Jones said he knew Mr O’leary held a national record for knocking someone out in 12 seconds in boxing, so he was wary about him.
Jones explained he parked in front of a Biffa bin at the yard when he arrived.
“I sat in the car and waited for Mike to come up,” Jones said.
Jones said that when Mr O’leary arrived, “I had the gun with me. I stood up and shot two or three rounds into the floor.
“I said to him: ‘Time for that chat now’.
Mr Khalil asked why didn’t he just shoot Mr O’leary when he was standing helpless in front of him.
“I didn’t want to shoot him dead,” Jones said.
“He said: ‘All right Jones’. I walked over and put the gun at my hip pointing it in the air.
“He walked back and tripped backwards.”
“I did not shoot him,” Jones said.
“I said: ‘All you’re interested in is f****** my wife’. I took the opportunity to kick him in the face. to scare
“He went down for the count and was basically unconscious.
“I still had the rifle in my hand. I pulled him with one hand and put him in the recovery position. Believe it or not I had done that a few times in our time together through the years. “He was snoring.” Mr O’leary then started to get up, Jones said.
Karim Khalil asked whether he felt Mr O’leary was a threat to him.
“No, I didn’t threaten him,” Jones said.
He said the pair were talking and he spoke about the impact the affair had had on his family.
“I got the point over to him and I was going to tell him the situation had changed and Rhiannon was with me now.
“I went to get the gun and I said: ‘Imagine if it was one of your children going through this. Imagine if it was Wayne, he’s your favourite’.
“Mike said I love them all the same then lunged at me.
“The gun went off and he said ‘Ahh’ and slumped.
“The gun hit me in the face, I went to the floor with him and that’s what happened.
“It’s the closest I have come to fouling myself.”
Mr Khalil asked if he meant for the gun to go off.
Jones said: “No, I thought it had been caught in our clothes.”
The prosecution’s case is that Mr O’leary was shot and killed and that a forklift was then used to move his body.
Mr O’leary was reported missing on the evening of January 27 after he failed to return to his
Nantgaredig home from work and his whereabouts remain unknown.
William Hughes QC, prosecuting, had earlier told the jury the alleged murder had been planned carefully with the defendant also taking steps “to cover up or destroy evidence of the crime, in particular Mr O’leary’s body, in an attempt to hinder the police investigation”.
The court heard Mr O’leary’s family reported him missing after his wife and three sons received a text message, apparently sent by his mobile telephone, which read: “I’m so sorry x”.
On March 14 this year a piece of human tissue of a small intestine was discovered inside a rusty oil barrel being decanted at Jones’ home address by police during a search of the property. It matched the DNA profile of Mr O’leary.
Mr Hughes said the defendant’s wife had been having an affair with Mr O’leary, which Jones became aware of in September 2019 when he discovered messages on her ipad.
Mr Hughes said after he was arrested Jones told police investigators Mr O’leary died in a “tragic accident” during a confrontation.
Mr Hughes said Jones claimed there was a “scuffle” between the two men which led to Mr O’leary being shot in the head. Jones is said to have claimed the bullet went through his chin.
The defendant began weeping in the dock when Karim Khalil QC, defending, said he wanted to ask questions about Mr O’leary.
Jones said he had known Mr O’leary for 25 years and said he “never” suspected his friend was having an affair with his wife Rhiannon.
He said he was “shocked and very surprised” when he found messages between the pair on his wife’s ipad and said it left him “really upset”.
Jones, 53, of Bronwydd Road in Carmarthen, denies murder. The case continues.