A Wicklow man has gone on trial accused of murdering a woman he claims was threatening to tell his wife that he’d cheated on her over Christmas 2014.

Roy Webster, a cabinet maker from Ashbree in Ashford, pleaded guilty to Anne Shortall’s manslaughter but this wasn’t accepted by the DPP.

The jury has been told Roy Webster had sex with Anne Shortall after meeting her at a pub in December 2014.

She was married with one child at the time and his wife was expecting their second.

Ms. Shortall owed thousands in rent and bills and later contacted him to tell him she was pregnant and needed money for a termination

The court heard he met Anne in his work van on April 3rd 2015 and drove her to The Murrough, Co. Wicklow where he beat her with a hammer.