A man has been acquitted of murdering his girlfriend in Co Kilkenny.

Renars Veigulis told gardaí that Rita Apine died when she fell down the stairs of their home on Bridge Street in Freshford in May 2017.

Just after noon on May 14th 2017, Mr Veigulis called an ambulance claiming his girlfriend Rita Apine had fallen down the stairs of their home.

He told Gardaí he was playing with his daughter downstairs when he just heard a “boom, boom, boom” from above.

She was taken to hospital where she died later that day. A post-mortem revealed she died from severe blunt force trauma to the head.

Gardaí became suspicious when they found some blood in a part of the house that they felt didn't tally with his version of events.

A pathologist told the jury her injuries weren't consistent with a simple fall down stairs, but the defence argued that no two falls are the same.

The jury came back with a number of questions throughout the almost ten and a half hours they spent deliberating.

In the end, they found him not guilty of murder.

The 32-year-old wiped away tears before leaving the dock after Judge Tara Burns told him he was free to go.