A farmer has said his aunt’s death was not murder but a tragic accident. 

Chrissie Treacy and her nephew, Michael Scott, jointly owned about 140 acres of farmland in Derryhiney, Portumna.

Mr Scott used to lease her portion of the land from her but in the lead up to her death in 2018, she initiated legal proceedings to formally divide the farmland.

Declan McHugh, an auctioneer and agricultural consultant who represented Chrissie, told the jury she made it clear to him that she wanted to partition the land and instructed him to write to Mr Scott to make it clear that certain parcels of land at Derryhiney shouldn’t be included in his application for the Single Farm Payment.

Mr McHugh explained that two farmers can’t seek entitlement for the same patch of land.

It is the prosecution’s case that Mr Scott murdered his aunt in the yard outside her farmhouse the day after that letter was sent.

He denies the charge.

Main image: The Central Criminal Court of Justice. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie