‘Toxic husband lost control so he killed Anne’

ACCUSED’S ‘LAST THROW OF DICE’

A HUSBAND displayed the “ultimate in toxic masculinity” by stabbing his wife to death in an effort to control the end of their marriage, a prosecution barrister has told a murder trial jury.

Renato Gehlen “lost control” of his wife Anne Colomines and his marriage and could not handle it, so he stabbed her through the heart, Shane Costelloe SC said yesterday.

The accused’s actions that night, counsel said, were “the last roll of the dice” and amounted to “the ultimat e in toxic masculinity by trying to regain what he saw as controlling the situation and him putting the final full stop at the en d of

their marriage, not her.”

Mr Costelloe gave his closing speech yesterday in the Central Criminal Court trial of Mr Gehlen (39), a B razilian national who has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife Ms Colomines (37), a French national who w orked f or Paypal, at their home in Dorset Square, Gardiner Street upper, Dublin 1 on October 25, 2017.

The trial heard that Mr Gehlen told gardai that he and his wife had a fight about “another man”. He said Ms Colomines had a knife and he didn’t know if she was going to do something to him or herself.

Eyes

The accused said he tried to grab the knife and as they struggled, he heard Ms Colomines say, “ah!” and he lost his balance and fell to the ground beside the bed.

She fell also, he said, and then used the knife to stab herself in the abdomen. The accused said Ms Colomines’ eyes were wide open and she locked her jaw as she stabbed herself in the middle of the chest.

Mr Gehlen told gardai it was “50/ 50 blame on both sides” and that he “tried to make her stop”. He told gardai that he then tried to kill himself because Ms Colomines was his family.

Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan has given evidence that she found four stab wounds to Ms Colomines’ body, a 22 centimetre incised wound to her throat and six incisions on her hands that she said were consistent with defensive injuries. Taking all the injuries together, Dr Mulligan said, it was “highly unlikely” the deceased stabbed herself to death.

Addressing the jury yesterday, Mr Costelloe said there was a “catalogue of wounds” to Ms Colomines and if they decided that Mr Gehlen had perpetrated those wounds, they could be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he had intended to kill her or cause her serious injury.

“You do not plu nge a knife through the heart of someone penetrating the sac so it comes out the other side unless you intend to kill or cause serious injury,” he added.

Mr Costelloe submitted that the couple’s marriage was ending “if not ended”.

“We live in the 21st century,” the barrister said, “and even if one’s wife is having an affair and is unfaithful that does not give one the right ‘to plunge a knife through her chest and kill her’”.

The trial continues.