Clogher murder victim’s widow searched all night, trial hears

THE second day of the trial of a woman accused of murdering father-of-four Pat Ward in Clogher four years ago has heard from those who made the grim discovery and from his wife who had spent the night looking for him when he didn’t return home.

Thirty-year-old Mr Ward suffered severe head trauma and upper body stab wounds.

Karen Marie McDonald (37) of McCrea Park, Clogher denies his murder on February 9, 2019. Her partner Niall Cox (27), of the same address, initially also denied murder, but has since pleaded guilty.

Statements of witnesses were read into the record at Dungannon Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday), including those of the couple who discovered Mr Ward’s body on their way to work around 8am that morning.

One of them said, “I noticed he was badly bruised, and there was a very large wound on the top of his back.

“I tried to see of he was breathing, but there were no signs. I called an ambulance, and waited until it arrived. Police also arrived, and I told them what I could.”

While he recognised the victim to see, “I couldn’t place him, until someone said it was Pat Ward.”

DIGNITY

Another witness retrieved a sheet from his home, laying this over Mr Ward, ‘to give him dignity’, as his shorts and underwear had gathered around his knees.

Prior to this, a witness described seeing Mrs Ward on a number of occasions wearing night clothes, and walking in the darkness, searching for her husband.

He had been socialising in a nearby friend’s house the previous evening, returning home briefly around 6pm when Mrs Ward rang to say his parents had arrived to visit the family.

The victim made his way back to his friend’s home taking beer, cigarettes and a phone with him.

ANXIOUS

The night wore on, and Mrs Ward became ‘increasingly anxious’ that he had not come home, and multiple attempts to ring him went unanswered.

She drove around the general area, but couldn’t find her husband.

At around 4.40am the following morning, she left her house on foot, calling first at his friend’s house who confirmed he wasn’t there, and suggested he may have been ‘scooped’ by police.

Aware that her husband knew Cox, she asked where he lived and the friend pointed to McDonald’s house.

Mrs Ward made her way there, and noticed a hall light was on. But, before she could knock, the door was opened by Cox.

SHOUTED

She enquired if her husband was there, to which McDonald emerged and allegedly shouted, “Who the f*** do you think you are? Get out of my house.”

Mrs Ward felt ‘quite intimidated’, but, again, asked about her husband, to which McDonald replied, “He left in a taxi to Enniskillen.”

Mrs Ward didn’t question this as McDonald, “Really convinced me…

“She was looking back over her shoulder, and told me to keep quiet as she had two children upstairs.”

Before leaving, Mrs Ward apologised for disturbing the couple and asked if they heard from her husband, to let her know.

McDonald replied, “Sure. Call over one of these days for a cup of tea.”

On arriving back home, Mrs Ward rang police as she believed he had been arrested, but this wasn’t the case.

She continued ringing his phone, but it was never answered.

At around 10am, police called with Mrs Ward, and broke the news of her husband’s death, and the following day she formally identified his body.

The trial continues.