Costa del Sol
Verdict in the McArdle case now expected on Tuesday
By h.b. - Oct 6, 2008 - 8:42 AM
email this article
|
A verdict in the case of Michael Dermot McArdle, the Irish man who is accused of throwing his wife to her death from a Marbella hotel balcony in 2000 is expected tomorrow.
After a week of evidence the case concluded in Málaga’s Provincial Court on Saturday with the final statement from the 39 year old accused who insisted that he did not kill his 28 year wife Kelly-Anne.
He told the court that she tripped and fell over the balcony as she tried to stop their toddler son from climbing on the railing.
He made his plea to the jury through an interpreter and rejected claims from other witnesses in the case that his marriage had been a violent and troubled one. He also is reported to have refused a plea-bargain, insisting on his innocence.
The state prosecutor has however reduced the charge from murder to reckless manslaughter after contradictions were noticed in some of the witnesses' declarations, and at 10am this morning the jury will be given a list of questions which they have to consider before issuing their verdict.