A MAN accused of murdering his girlfriend told a jury yesterday he stabbed her after she taunted him for failing to make love to her after a night's drinking.
Mr Gerard Mullane said Ms Valerie Linehan blamed him for a miscarriage and said if he had been "man enough" she would still have been pregnant.
Mr Mullane told the Central Criminal Court that since Ms Linehan's death he did not think he "had anything left to live for".
The court has been told Ms Linehan died from a stab wound to the chest and asphyxia due to manual strangulation.
The jury is due to retire today to consider its verdict.
Mr Mullane (33), from Emly Co Tipperary, pleaded not guilty on Monday to the murder of Ms Linehan (21), of Killala Gardens Cork, at his flat in MacCurtain Street, Cork, on December 4th 1994.
At the outset of the trial Mr Kevin Haugh SC, defending, said Mr Mullane was making a formal admission that he killed Ms Linehan and the only issue was one of provocation.
Mr Justice Carney told the jury that the admission meant it would have to decide if the killing was murder or manslaughter.
Mr Mullane yesterday told Mr Haugh he had been going out with Ms Linehan for about seven months before her death.
He became aware she was pregnant about three weeks before the miscarriage.
On December 3rd, Mr Mullane said, he had five pints after finishing work and met Valerie around 8.30 p.m. in a local pub.
After more drinks they went back to his flat where they had "a few cans". "The next thing she was a bit hyper. She started to blame me for the miscarriage. She said if I was man enough she'd still be pregnant today. I said what do you ... .ing mean by that. She said you probably haven't got enough sperm in you.
When they finished the cans they got into bed. "We tried to make love and I just couldn't perform because I had a lot to drink. She started on to me about that.
"I don't really know what state of mind I was in. I was f. . . ing raging myself. The next thing I knew I ran out of the room. I just got off the bed and ran out of the room. I just completely flipped... The next thing I knew we were struggling on the bed. I realised I was after stabbing Valerie," he added.
Mr Mullane left the flat. After about an hour he went to Anglesea Street Garda Station.
When asked how he had felt since, he said "Sometimes I just don't think it's worth carrying on any more. I don't think I have anything left to live for."
Cross examined by Mr Joseph Matthews SC, prosecuting, Mr Mullane agreed there was a distance of 24 feet between the bed and the kitchen hatch in the living room where he took the knife from a container.
He could not explain why he had left the bedroom and gone into the living room during the argument.
He "would have to agree" that when he stood naked with a knife in his hand and said to Ms Linehan "I'll ... . ing kill you" he must have threatened her.
It wasn't his intention, said Mr Mullane, to kill Ms Linehan.
In his charge to the jury, Mr Justice Carney said there was little dispute between the prosecution and defence about the facts of the case and there were large areas of agreement. The jury was required to bring in a unanimous verdict of murder or manslaughter.
In this case, he said, where the defence was contending there was provocation, the onus rested on the prosecution to prove the defendant did not lose control.
The case continues.
