THE trial of a woman accused of the murder of a 34-year-old father of four in Clogher has heard evidence from his widow about the night he went missing.

Karen Marie McDonald (37), of McCrea Park, Clogher, denies murdering Pat Ward on February 9, 2019.

Her partner, Niall Cox (27), of the same address, initially also denied murdering Mr. Ward, but changed this plea to guilty in June; however, this could not be reported at the time.

On day two of the trial earlier this week at Dungannon Crown Court, Pat Ward’s widow, Ellen, told the court he was originally from Sligo.

On the evening in question, he was socialising with a friend nearby, and she and their four children were at home.

The victim’s parents arrived and Mrs. Ward contacted him, after which he came home for a short time. During this, he asked her to get him beer and cigarettes from a local shop, which she did.

Mrs. Ward noticed her husband fall, and believed he was intoxicated. The victim left and returned to his friend’s home, taking the beer, cigarettes and a phone with him.

The night wore on and Mrs. Ward was becoming concerned that he had not come home, the court heard.

Around 4.40am the following morning, dressed in nightwear, she went out looking for her husband.

She called at the friend’s house, who confirmed he wasn’t there, and suggested he may have been “scooped” by police.

Mrs. Ward was aware her husband had previously been socialising with Cox, who was also originally from Sligo, and asked the friend where he lived.

He in turn pointed to a house on the opposite side of the road.

She made her way there, and before she could knock, the door was opened by Cox, and she enquired if her husband was there.

McDonald emerged from the living room and told Mrs. Ward: “Who the f*** do you think you are? Get out of my house.”

Mrs. Ward noticed McDonald was wearing what appeared to be a green nightdress, and she noticed a bundle of bedclothes and a dressing gown lying in the hallway.

She asked if they knew where her husband was, and McDonald replied: “He got a taxi to Enniskillen.”

Before leaving, Mrs. Ward asked them that if they saw her husband or heard from him, “To pop over and let me know. Karen said, ‘Sure. I’ll let you know. Call over one of these days for a cup of tea’,” the court heard.

On arriving back home, Mrs. Ward rang police to establish if her husband had been arrested, which he hadn’t.

Throughout this night, she was ringing his phone, but “it was never answered at any time”.

Around 9am, detectives arrived at Mrs. Ward’s home, and broke the news that her husband was dead, as well as the circumstances of where he had been found.

The following day, Mrs. Ward confirmed she formally identified her husband.

During a brief cross-examination, Mrs. Ward confirmed she believed her husband was “hiding” upstairs in the house, because he knew she would be looking for him.

She confirmed on enquiring of this, Cox stated: “He’s not here. Honest to God, he’s not here.”

It was further confirmed Cox claimed the victim had not been drinking with him and McDonald, although he had been in the house for a short time, describing him as: “Off his head and stone-mad.”

Mrs. Ward said: “I did believe he was there when I went round, but Karen convinced me that he wasn’t.”

Defence counsel asked if she believed Cox and McDonald were “Covering for Mr. Ward to allow him to keep partying?”

She replied: “At first, yes, but both of them – mainly Karen – convinced me that he’d left in a taxi.”

The trial continues.