A handwritten note in which the writer asked for forgiveness for what he had done was found in a bedroom of a home in Cork where a mother of one was discovered “cold and stiff to the touch” in a “blood soaked bed,” a murder trial has heard.
Regin Parithapara Rajan (43) of Kerala in India is on trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, charged with the murder of his wife Deepa Dinamani.
The 38-year-old chartered accountant was found dead by members of the Armed Support Unit (ASU) when they went to her family home in Cardinal Court in Wilton in the city on July 14th, 2023. Regin and Deepa had moved to Ireland from India with their young son four months earlier.
Crime scene examiner Det Garda John Paul Twomey on Wednesday told the trial that he visited the house in Wilton the day after Deepa was found dead onsite.
Dt Garda Twomey said that a notebook seized from the property contained a note which read: “ I love you so much. Please forgive me for what I did, as your mum was having something….and his name was Jay.”
Dt Garda Twomey told the jury that the note was difficult to read. He read out what he could decipher. He stated that he seized and bagged, amongst other items, a knife, a wedding ring, a broken gold necklace and a bloodied T-shirt and shorts. He said that he took various swabs from the body of the deceased.
Meanwhile, CCTV evidence was shown of what Dt Garda Dave Hickey described as the buying of the “potential murder weapon” two days before Deepa was discovered dead in her home.
Det Garda Hickey said that CCTV from Tesco in Wilton Shopping Centre was examined and the accused Regin Rajan was captured buying a Go Cook carving knife, a bottle of whiskey and a soft drink. He said that Mr Rajan brought a bag for life to the supermarket on the afternoon of July 12th, 2023 and used a Tesco club card when purchasing the items.
Meanwhile, Derek Foley, call handler at the Garda Control Room in Anglesea Street in Cork, gave evidence of answering an emergency call at 9.55 pm on July 14th, 2023. He said that he asked the caller for his name and eircode. He said the man identified himself as Regin Rajan and gave an eircode for a property in Cardinal Court in Wilton in Cork.
Mr Foley told the jury the caller said he had killed his wife.
“He said that he wanted the guards to come around and arrest him as he had killed his wife.”
Mr Foley asked the caller if there was anybody else in the property and the man replied that his five-year-old son was at home.
Mr Foley said that he offered to stay on the line until the gardaí arrived. However, the caller opted not to stay on the line. A recording of the 999 call was played to the jury.
Meanwhile, Detective Garda Patrick O’Toole of the ASU said that Ms Dimanani was found dead in an upstairs front bedroom of her home in Wilton shortly after 10 pm on July 14th, 2023.
He said that Deepa was wrapped in a duvet on a bed. Det Garda O’Toole said that she was on her left side, facing the bedroom window.
“We rolled her on to her back. I checked for pulse. She was cold to touch." He said it looked like she had been there some time. "Her limbs were quite rigid. I observed that there was a large knife in the room.”
Det Garda Tony Devane of the ASU accompanied Dt Garda O’Toole at the scene. He said that when they arrived on site Mr Rajan complied with his instructions to get on his knees and to put his hands behind his neck. Mr Rajan was handcuffed.
Det Garda Devane said that he asked Mr Rajan if anybody else was in the house, but his reply was “incoherent” and “low.”
The trial continues on Thursday before Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford and a jury of five men and seven women.
