A handwritten note in which the writer asked for forgiveness for what he had done was found in a bedroom of a home in Cork where a mother of one was discovered “cold and stiff to the touch” in a “blood soaked bed,” a murder trial has heard.
Regin Parithapara Rajan (43) of Kerala in India is on trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork charged with the murder of his wife Deepa Dinamani. He denies the charge.
The 38-year-old chartered accountant was found dead by members of the Armed Support Unit (ASU) when they went to her family home in Cardinal Court in Wilton in the city on July 14th, 2023. The couple had moved to Ireland from India with their young son four months earlier.
Crime scene examiner Det Garda John Paul Twomey on Wednesday told the trial that he visited the house in Wilton the day after Ms Dinamani was found dead.
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Dt Garda Twomey said that a notebook seized from the property contained a note which read: “I love you so much. Please forgive me for what I did as your mum was having something ... and his name was Jay.”
Dt Garda Twomey told the jury that the note was difficult to read, and he read out what he could decipher. He stated that he seized and bagged, among other items, a knife, a wedding ring, a broken gold necklace and a bloodied t shirt and shorts. He said that he took various swabs from the body of the deceased.
Meanwhile, CCTV evidence was shown of what Det Garda Dave Hickey described as the buying of the “potential murder weapon” two days before Ms Dinamani was discovered dead in her home.
Det Garda Hickey said that CCTV from Tesco in Wilton Shopping Centre was examined and the accused, Mr Rajan, was captured buying a Go Cook carving knife, a bottle of whiskey and a soft drink. He said that Mr Rajan brought a bag for life to the supermarket on the afternoon of July 12th, 2023, and used a Tesco club card when he was purchasing the items.
Derek Foley, call handler at the Garda control room in Anglesea Street in Cork, gave evidence of having received an emergency call at 9.55pm on July 14th, 2023. He said that he asked the caller for his name and Eircode. He said the man identified himself as Regin Rajan and gave an Eircode for a property in Cardinal Court in Wilton in Cork.
Mr Foley told the jury: “He said that he wanted the guards to come around and arrest him as he had killed his wife.”
Mr Foley asked the caller if there was anybody else in the property and the man replied that his five-year-old son was at home.
Mr Foley said that he offered to stay until the line until the gardaí arrived. However, the caller opted not to stay on the line.
The trial will continue on Thursday before Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford and a jury of five men and seven women.
