A woman on trial for the murder of her partner declined to give evidence on her own behalf on Wednesday as the Crown concluded its case against her.
Moments after prosecution KC Richard Weir formally closed the Crown case against self-confessed killer Julie Ann McIlwaine, defence KC Eilish McDermott confirmed the 33-year-old defendant “will not be giving evidence.”
She told the Coleraine Crown Court that while McIlwaine will not be taking the witness box, psychiatric evidence would be given by two experts on Thursday.
McIlwaine, from Hazel Close in the Lagmore area of west Belfast, is on trial accused of the murder of Jim Crossley on 2 March 2022.
The 38-year-old victim sustained fatal stab wounds at McIlwaine’s former home in Filbert Drive in Dunmurry.
When he opened the case last week Mr Weir told the court if they are satisfied McIlwaine intended to kill or cause really serious harm they should convicted her of murder but if they are satisfied the defence of loss of self control is made out, they should convicted her of manslaughter.
The jury have heard how McIlwaine and Crossley first began their relationship in January 2020 but that between then and the fatal stabbing around 23.30 on 1 March 2022, there had been periods of separation with incidents of domestic violence, coercive control and verbal abuse.
On Wednesday the jury heard transcripts of the last of the four police interviews detectives conducted with McIlwaine and four voice note recordings were also played in the court where the defendant had recorded a conversation with Crossley in February 2022.
McIlwaine had sent those voice note recordings to her friend and in the aftermath of his death detectives obtained the recordings.
When the recordings were played, McIlwaine sat sobbing in the dock, as she can be heard pleading with Crossley: “Just leave me alone, just get a taxi and go please.”
Crossley repeatedly refuses her crying pleas and is heard to threaten “I’ll burn this house down” and apparently referring to her children he declares: “Look at the state of them…look at the state of all your f****** kids…they’re the most ugliest kids I’ve ever seen.”
In a later recording where the couple’s baby is crying in the background, McIlwaine is still begging Crossley to “just leave the house” but he tells her “I’ll make sure you have f****** no kids…”
In her fourth and final police interview detectives put to McIlwaine a number of comments she made and which were recorded on officers’ body worn cameras when they attended her neighbour’s house.
McIlwaine was recorded telling police the situation had gotten to there point where “I’m thinking it’s either him or me…if I don’t get rid of him I have no way of escaping from him…it’s either him for me.”
They also put to her that she was recorded saying “it was like premeditated…I knew what I was doing…it was like there was no escape” but McIlwaine told the officers in the interview room “it was not premeditated.”
Emphasising to the jury how McIlwaine was “sobbing” at parts of the interview process, an officer quoted from the transcript how the defendant was recorded saying: “I didn’t plan to kill him. He is a horrible person, twisting things in my head about his solicitor and his family.
“I just couldn’t take any more. I would’ve ended up with nothing. I would’ve had no one and nothing - I felt that was the only option…I didn’t think he would’ve died…he would’ve ended up killing me - that was my only option.”