Man accused of murdering partner told gardaí: 'I killed her. Please lock me up'

Fiona Magennis

A man who denies murdering his partner, who died from stab wounds in the Co Meath home they shared, told gardaí: “I am guilty, I killed her. Please lock me up”, a jury has heard.

In his fourth and final garda interview, Daniel Blanaru also told officers that he did not see Larisa Serban in bed with another man hours before she was found dead.

Mr Blanaru (37), from Rathmore, Athboy, Co Meath, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Serban (26) on or about August 12th, 2022.

A portion of the transcript of Mr Blanaru’s fourth and final interview was read to the Central Criminal Court trial on Friday by prosecution counsel Antonia Boyle BL.

In the interview, part of Mr Blanaru’s sister Simona’s statement was put to him, in which she said the accused had told her that when he arrived home Larisa was with another man, the man ran away, and the couple started arguing.

In response, Mr Blanaru, speaking through a Romanian interpreter, said he argued with Larisa “because of him” before adding, “but I didn’t see him with her”.

Gardaí emphasised that his sister had said she asked him why he did it, and he said it was because of that man, to which he replied: “I don’t think that’s how I said it.”

The officers also put a portion of the statement of Simona’s husband Raul to the accused, in which he stated that Mr Blanaru had said Larisa was in bed with a man and he beat her up and cut her.

“Maybe I said, maybe I didn’t because I was very upset. I don’t know,” said Mr Blanaru. “I already said I killed her. What else do you want to find out when I’m guilty already?”

Detective Garda Conor Cadigan, who conducted the interview alongside Detective Sergeant Robert Madden, put it to the accused that he simply wanted to explain that he was reading independent witness statements and in both statements the individuals had said that Mr Blanaru “categorically stated” that Larisa was in bed with another man.

“Listen to me please I can’t take it anymore. I have a pain in my heart,” the accused responded. “Please, I am guilty. I killed her. Please lock me up and leave me alone, and that is it.”

Mr Blanaru was then shown an item which gardaí described as a “dagger like” instrument found in his car. After viewing it he told the detectives: “That’s not the knife”.

When the detectives asked what he had done with the knife, Mr Blanaru said: “I can’t remember I think I threw it on the ground. It has to be there.”

The trial has heard that Mr Blanaru told gardaí he “pushed” and “hit” Larisa during an argument after he claimed he found her having a party with her brother David Serban and another “tall guy” hours before she was found stabbed to death in her home.

During the fourth interview, the detectives asked the accused if he had caught the “tall man” in bed with Larisa, and Mr Blanaru replied: “No”.

A segment of the video footage of the interview was then viewed by the jury in which the accused is shown a number of crime scene photographs of the deceased and the house in Rathmore.

As Mr Blanaru viewed the photographs, he can be seen crying loudly and putting his hands up to his face as detectives question him about where he left the knife.

Asked what direction he threw the knife, Mr Blanaru said “down”. The interviewing detective notes that Mr Blanaru is pointing to the floorboards of the bedroom beside Larisa’s body.

Asked if he had returned to the scene or if he had removed the knife from the scene, Mr Blanaru said he had not.

After the footage from the final interview concluded, defence counsel Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC began cross-examining Detective Sergeant Mark Looby, who led the first and second garda interview with Mr Blanaru.

Mr Ó Lideadha put it to Det Sgt Looby that one potential scenario, although “highly unlikely”, was that Mr Blanaru was in conflict with Larisa, then left the house and that someone else entered the scene and could have “caused the fatal blow”.

Mr Ó Lideadha suggested to the witness that he did not follow up on, and had “basically ignored”, a lot of alternative scenarios raised by Mr Blanaru in interview.

“I don’t accept that,” Det Sgt Looby replied.

The detective sergeant denied suggestions that he was looking for “a confession” and was asking leading questions during the interviews. He said what he was looking for was an account of what happened and what was given was a “free flowing account”.

In relation to the photographs shown to the accused during his final interview, Mr Ó Lideadha put it to the witness that he knew those photos “would upset” Mr Blanaru.

“No, I didn’t know they would upset him. I was hoping they would get him to tell the truth,” said Det Sgt Looby.

Questioned by counsel about drink and drugs and a lack of sleep being relevant factors in deciding whether an interview process is reliable, Det Sgt Looby said gardaí would not go into an interview room if they thought someone was unfit to be interviewed. He said gardaí had sought medical advice in relation to Mr Blanaru on more than one occasion.

“Definitely in that first interview, I didn’t see any signs of fatigue; I saw emotion, yes,” he said, going on to say he found the accused “alert”, “challenging”, and “deflective” during interview.

The trial continues on Monday before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and an enlarged jury of 11 men and four women.