Anne Colomines lay dead on a bloodied floor beside her husband Renato Gehlen, who had a knife sticking from his chest, when members of the Dublin Fire Brigade entered their bedroom, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

In the bedroom, fire officers saw a Stanley knife near the skirting board and blood on the bedroom floor and walls. The knife that was lodged in Mr Gehlen’s chest was not deep and fell out as he was being moved downstairs, the court heard.

Mr Gehlen (39), a Brazilian national, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his 37-year-old French wife at the apartment they ….read more

By Sonya McClean & Brion Hoban

A teenager who alleges she was raped by a man who invited her to his home denied she was “running away from home” on the night, a jury has heard.

The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a charge of rape, sexual assault and false imprisonment in a Dublin suburb on August 21, 2017. The complainant was 15 years old at the time of the alleged rape.

The now 19-year-old, who gave evidence via video link, told the trial previously that she had snook ….read more

A man has received a six-month prison sentence for two indecent assaults on his younger niece committed when he was a teenager.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the anonymity of the victim, was aged between 14 and 17 when he carried out the assaults on his niece, who was aged from six to eight.

The two incidents took place on unknown dates sometime between early 1976 and late 1979. In sentencing the now 59 year old man, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty noted that the maximum penalty for the offences at that time was two years and this is ….read more

A man accused of murdering his wife discovered that she was seeing another man and sent him a message warning him “not to ever go near” her again, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

The court heard from work colleagues and friends of the deceased Anne Colomines, who said that in the months before she died she had started a new relationship with a man she met during a holiday in France. They told the court that Ms Colomines wanted to divorce her husband and have a “fresh start”.

Ms Colomines, a 37-year-old French national who worked for Paypal, was found dead ….read more

A teenager has told a trial that she was brought to a sealed room in a Dublin suburb by a man who raped her and afterwards told her that if she were older, “he would keep me there forever”.

The complainant has told the Central Criminal Court that the window in the room where she was allegedly attacked was locked and there was no handle on her side of the door.

The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to a charge of rape, sexual assault and false imprisonment in ….read more

A husband accused of murdering his wife spoke to his friend on the night of her death and told him: “Sorry, I killed Anne and now I’m going to kill myself,” the Central Criminal Court has heard.

The accused was also upset that his wife wanted a divorce and told his friend that she had accused him of being controlling and of not being there for her when she had an operation, the trial jury also heard today (WEDNESDAY).

Ralph Comendador said he was friends with the accused man Renato Gehlen and the deceased Anne Colomines. He said he spoke many ….read more

A husband accused of murdering his wife told gardai that she had stabbed herself, leaving him so distraught that he then stabbed himself, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

Opening the trial of 39-year-old Renato Gehlen, Shane Costelloe SC for the Director of Public Prosecutions said the jury will also hear evidence that the accused man was upset that his wife Anne Colomines wanted a divorce. On the night her body was found, Mr Gehlen is alleged to have told a friend: “I have just killed Anne and I’m going to kill myself.”

Mr Costelloe said that gardai and members of the ….read more

(Pictured: Mr Justice Paul McDermott. Photo: Collins)

Following the collapse of the Bray Boxing Club murder trial a judge has warned barristers that they must tell a court in advance of any issues that are likely to cause delay in a trial.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott, speaking at the Central Criminal Court this morning, said if barristers expect a trial to last more than three weeks, they must submit the reasons in writing to the court.

Trials listed for more than three weeks will not get a trial date, he said, unless the court receives a written memo explaining the issues in ….read more

A Paypal employee will go on trial tomorrow charged with murdering his wife at their home in Dublin four years ago.

Renato Gehlen (39), a Brazilian national, today pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife Anne Colomines (37), who also worked for Paypal, at their home in Dorset Square, Gardiner Street upper, Dublin 1 on October 25, 2017.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott empanelled a jury of seven men and five women to hear the trial and told them they will be required for up to three weeks.

He told the jury that Mr Renato had lived with the deceased in Dorset Square for ….read more

A truck driver who was put on trial accused of the same murder three times and saw a conviction quashed by the Supreme Court has been jailed for 11 years for manslaughter. Zoltan Almasi had “caused near instantaneous death” with a single and “savage blow” of a baseball bat after he saw his 20-year-old victim banging on his van.

Sentencing Almasi at the Central Criminal Court today, Mr Justice Michael White said the killing of Joseph “Joe Joe” Dunne has had “a devastating impact” on his family and the “exhaustive process and long drawn out legal procedure” of three trials and ….read more