A woman has gone on trial accused of murdering a Hungarian man by driving a car he was a passenger in off a harbour in Co. Wicklow.
The prosecution claims Marta Herda of Pairc na Saile, Emoclew Road in Arklow, Co. Wicklow knew her alleged victim couldn’t swim.
In 2013, Marta Herda was working as a part-time waitress at the BrookLodge hotel in Co. Wicklow. Csaba Orsas, a Hungarian, was a colleague of hers.
It is the prosecution’s case that he was a passenger in a car that she deliberately drove off a harbour into deep water at South Quay in Arklow.
Opening the trial this morning, Mr. Brendan Grehan SC told the jurors they will hear from a witness who heard a car driving through the harbour at speed just before 6am on the morning of March 26th 2013.
Mr. Grehan said this witness heard distressed screaming a short time later and saw the accused on the harbour with wet clothing stuck to her body.
The body of Csaba Orsas washed up on a beach two miles away and was discovered by a walker just before 2 o’clock that afternoon.
The jury was told it will also hear evidence that the window on the driver’s side of the car recovered from the water was rolled down and that the accused could swim and was aware that Mr. Orsas couldn’t.
