Murder trial hears woman looked 'totally terrified'

Witnesses have described how a woman who looked "totally terrified" tried to grab on to their car near Birdhill in Co Tipperary, a short time before Scarlett Faulkner was fatally injured last March.

The jury in the trial of a woman and a teen charged with murder was also shown dashcam footage of the lead up to the incident.

Driver Sean Bradley described how while driving to a match with a friend and his family, he saw a van and a car hitting off each other on the road near Birdhill before stopping.

He and others in the car saw a man at the back of the van use an axe or hammer to break the back window of the car.

Mr Bradley said he did not believe it was a traffic accident and everyone wanted to get out of there.

He turned his car away, but before he drove off, a woman appeared at the front of the car and grabbed the windscreen wiper before moving to the side of the car.

He said he drove away once the way was clear.

The jury was shown footage from the dashcam in which passengers in the car can be heard saying: "What is going on here?" "reverse, reverse" and "lock the doors" and "oh my God", "f**k sake, "broke the mirror".

Mr Bradley said he was sure the woman was behind the car when he drove off and the car did not hit her.

He said he drove on and he and all his passengers were shocked at what had happened.

They did not return to the scene and drove to the match on the old road.

Ger Floyd, who was also in the car, said the woman had "lost her grip on the car" before they drove away.

He said it was a "scary" and "dangerous" situation and everyone in the car just wanted to get away.

He said Mr Bradley pulled in on the hard shoulder after they had left the area and they were all shaken and "fairly traumatised".

His wife, Breda, said the woman looked "totally terrified" as she tried to grab on to the car and said the incident was "terribly traumatic and frightening".

Her daughter Ciara also said the woman at their car "seemed terrified".

She said she had looked back as the car drove away and saw a woman on the ground with another woman hitting her with a weapon that looked like a bat.

She said the person was striking "up and down" and while she could not say what the level of force used was, "it was not soft".

Court told accused had 'evil eyes'

Earlier, an acquaintance of Scarlett Faulkner's boyfriend told the court that he knew there would be trouble about their relationship and he did not think it was right.

The man described how Ms Faulkner and her boyfriend had visited his apartment the night before she was fatally injured.

He said after they left he woke to find the man’s wife – the 41-year-old on trial - standing over his bed "with evil eyes on her".

He said she demanded to know where her husband was and chased him around his kitchen table and struck him.

As he ran from his apartment, he was hit with a baseball bat by a young male he did not know.

The witness said he had known all parties in the case for some time and said he had known the accused woman.

He said that Ms Faulkner had never taken drugs in his apartment, despite what he said in his statement to gardai.

He said there was a lot going on and a lot of questions asked "If I got it wrong, I got it wrong".

After leaving the witness box he passed by the two accused and said "f***ing dirt bird".

Judge Kerida Naidoo told the jury that anything it might have seen or heard when the witness left the box was not evidence and should be ignored.

Ms Faulkner died on 13 April last after an incident at Birdhill in Co Tipperary on 21 March last.

The 17-year-old accused, who cannot be identified because she is a minor, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.

Her 41-year-old co-accused pleaded not guilty to murder.

She also denies burglary, entering a building as a trespasser, and causing criminal damage at an address in Co Tipperary on 20 March.

She pleaded not guilty to a third charge of burglary and committing assault causing harm, at an address in Limerick on 21 March.