����ý

The jury in a murder trial has heard an 11-minute 999 call made by a man accused of killing his wife.

Gary Baird, 64, denies the murder of 60-year-old Susan Baird at their home in the Four Winds area of south Belfast in August 2020.

He had pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter, but this plea was not accepted by the prosecution.

At Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday, police officers and paramedics first on the scene described what they found.

A 999 call made by Mr Baird was played to the court.

In it, he is heard to say: "I just murdered my wife." He repeated it several times and then said: "I hit her with a hammer."

Asked a series of questions by the emergency call handler, Mr Baird did not answer but could be heard breathing heavily on the line.

After several minutes he told the call handler there were "voices in my head".

She dispatched first responders and tried to keep Mr Baird on the line, checking that he was not holding any weapons or posing a threat to officers.

The call ended as the first police officers arrived at the house at Windermere Road.

'No sign of life'

One described how he found the front door ajar and the accused standing in front of him, covered in blood.

Another police officer who attended the scene told the court that Mr Baird was bleeding from a wound to the head.

He said: "A female lay slumped on a sofa. She had what appeared to be severe head injuries and was displaying no sign of life."

The jury was also shown footage from a body cam worn by one of the officers.

It showed Mr Baird with his face and shirt covered in blood and a significant, self-inflicted head wound.

The court heard that the suspected weapon used in the attack, a seven to eight-inch hammer, was found at the scene covered in blood.