A STATE PATHOLOGIST has told the Central Criminal Court sitting in Waterford of the injuries received by Gillian Curran, whose partner Marcus O’Neill is accused of her murder.

Dr Heidi Okkers told the court of the injuries received to the head, face and body, as the result of a post-mortem carried out following the death of Gillian Curran on 25 January 2025.

Marcus O’Neill (35) denied the murder of the Tramore woman at his home at O’Brien Street in Waterford city, on 25 January 2025, when he was arraigned before a jury of seven women and five men.

Okkers told the court of having received details relating to the house and of both Marcus O’Neill and Gillian Curran being in the house, while the following morning, 25 January 2025, of Marcus O’Neill having found Gillian Curran downstairs and having placed her on a couch.

She told of her having fallen asleep on the couch with her partner Marcus O’Neill having picked her off the floor. She also told of Ms Curran having been put in an ambulance and removed to University Hospital Waterford.

Okkers outlined to the court the various different bruises, abrasions and lacerations found all over Ms Curran’s body. She said these bruises, abrasions and lacerations, were distributed over Ms Curran’s arms, legs, face, chest, shoulder, back and head.

She told of extensive lacerations, bruises around the eyes, with two lacerations and bleeding over the surface of the brain. There were other injuries: lacerations on the forehead, abrasions of the eyelids, bruising on the side of the neck. There was haemorrhaging, several bruises and lacerations of the upper abdomen, while the kidneys were pale with lacerations on the surface of the kidney.

She said some of the injuries were not consistent with a fall, adding, that she had injuries and bruising to her back. The abrasions could be related to a fall or related to trauma, she added

Okkers also said there were abrasions on the left ear and behind the left ear, while there was bruising of the upper and lower eyelids. On one of the eyelids there was swelling and bruising, with the swelling and bruising consistent with trauma.

Over the bridge of the nose there was a laceration, while there were abrasions over the lip. The abrasions to her ear could have been caused by a fall or a punch, she added.

She said there were lacerations to the lower chin, while under the jawline across the next there was an area of abrasions. That area of abrasions could be consistent with compression of the hand and fingernails. She also said there were several areas of bruising on the right side of the neck, while on the left side of the neck there was an abrasion.

Okkers said that compression of the hand is the cause of bruising, with the whole neck area covered in bruises and abrasions.

She also said that on the left side of the cheek there were several bruises, while there were also abrasions of the chest area, which could have been caused by the clothing having been pulled over a surface. On the outside of the collarbone there was bruising, while on the left side just under the armpit there were several bruises, which could have been from clothing, a fall or someone lifting her up.

On the left side of the abdomen, she said, there was purple bruising, with bruising also on the right side of the groin.

Her right shoulder area had an abrasion, while on the upper third of her arm there were purple bruises. On the left shoulder there were multiple bruises. There were also bruises on the right knee, while behind the right knee there was purple bruising.

The opening of the trial heard that O’Neill told emergency services the couple had been drinking the night before, and that Ms Curran had fallen several times before falling down the stairs where he found her the following morning.

The jury was played a recording of a 999 call that O’Neill made on 25 January 2025 at 9.56am in which he explained what had happened.

He told Paramedics that Ms Curran had fallen a few times and hit her head and her chin.

“I can hear the heart pulse, her heartbeat, she’s not breathing, her breathing is very low,” he said on the call.

‘She’s not awake, she doesn’t appear to be conscious, but she has a heart rate, her breathing is very low, and her temperature is quite high. Her breathing is not normal.’

Opening the trial, prosecuting counsel Conor O’Doherty, SC, said the issue for the jury would be whether the injuries sustained by Ms Curran occurred by accident as outlined by O’Neill to gardaí, or whether they were the result of a violent assault, as the State contended.

He said that O’Neill was in a relationship with Ms Curran, who had struggled throughout her life with alcohol addiction. While she was not living with O’Neill at his home on O’Brien Street, she stayed there occasionally, as was the case of 24 January 2025.

The trial continues before a jury and Judge Caroline Biggs.