Woman accused of disguising herself as her grandmother as "ruse" to conceal her death denied to gardai that she killed or assisted anyone in killing her granny

A 22-year-old woman, who is accused of disguising herself as her grandmother as a "ruse" to conceal her death, denied to gardai that she had killed or assisted anyone in killing her nanny. 

The jury today  heard the third and fourth garda interviews with Stephanie O'Connor, who is the granddaughter of the deceased Patricia O'Connor, which were held at Wicklow Garda Station on September 2 and 3, 2017.

The deceased's daughter Louise O'Connor (41) and granddaughter Stephanie O'Connor (22), both of Millmount Court, Dundrum Road, Dublin 14, and Louise O'Connor's ex-partner Keith Johnston (43), of Avonbeg Gardens, Tallaght, Dublin 24 are all charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Kieran Greene, knowing or believing him to have committed an arrestable offence, to wit the murder of Patricia O'Connor (61) on May 29, 2017.

They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Stephanie O'Connor has also pleaded not guilty to disguising herself as Mrs O'Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 at a point in time after her murder on May 29, 2017 in order to conceal the fact that she was already dead. 

It is the prosecution's case that at no point in time in CCTV footage can Stephanie O'Connor be seen as herself leaving Mountainview Park on the night of May 29 and that in order to cover up the alleged murder she dressed up as her grandmother as "a ruse" to pretend that Mrs O'Connor had stormed out of the house carrying a suitcase. It is the State's contention that Mrs O'Connor was already dead in the house at the time. 

Evidence has been given that the body of Mrs O’Connor was dismembered into 15 separate parts that were found at nine different locations over a 30km range in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains between June 10 and 14, 2017. 

This morning, Geraldine Small BL, for the State, read from a transcript of a garda interview with Stephanie O'Connor on September 2, 2017. It was the third interview since her arrest.

During the interview, the court heard, Stephanie O'Connor was shown video clips from CCTV footage caught on a camera facing the back of Patricia O'Connor's neighbour's home in Mountainview Park at 10.06pm on the night of May 29, 2017.

The jury heard that as the CCTV clip was replayed for Stephanie O'Connor, she told gardai: "I think it's me closing the door. I think. I'm still not totally sure it's me." Asked specifically if it was her, she said: "I can't remember."

The clip was then replayed again and gardai zoomed in on the person caught on the footage. When asked what colour hair the person had, Stephanie O'Connor said: "It looks light but that's [the footage] black and white."

She then replied "me and Nana" when she was asked who has light hair in the house at Mountainview Park.

When she was asked if the person was her Nana, Stephanie O'Connor said that Patricia O'Connor had "apparently" left at that point. 

"It could be me but I don't remember, it was ages ago," she added.

Gardai then played a clip from 10.05pm and zoomed in on the footage where the person is seen.

Asked to identify what she sees and to identify who she sees, Stephanie O'Connor replied: "Someone going inside... me, I guess."

Gardai then asked her to tell them what she was doing. "Going inside," she replied.

Asked where she was coming from, Ms O'Connor said: "I'm coming from around the shed."

She went on to say she couldn't remember how she got out to the shed. She said she was bringing in a bag from the shed for her mother.

When asked to describe the bag, she said: "It's just a bag from the shed...my mam asked me to bring it in... I do what I'm told."

Asked if that was all her mother asked her to do, Stephanie O'Connor said: "I don't remember."

Stephanie O'Connor later said she was bringing in a bag from the shed and she couldn't remember "what the other thing was".

Asked to describe the bag, she said: "It was a suitcase style bag, I brought it in and went to bed."

In a separate interview at Wicklow Garda Station on September 3rd, 2017, Stephanie O'Connor replied "no" when asked if she killed her nanny Patricia O'Connor.

The court heard she also replied "no" when she was asked if she assisted anyone in killing Patricia O'Connor.

Louise O'Connor has also pleaded not guilty to agreeing to or acquiescing in her daughter Stephanie O'Connor disguising herself as Patricia O'Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 on May 29, 2017 in order to conceal the fact that Patricia O'Connor was dead.  

Mr Greene (34) has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mrs O'Connor at her home in Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 on May 29, 2017.

The trial continues.