Murder accused admits to death of Manuela

Date Published: 19-Mar-2009

Manuela THE Galwayman – accused of the murder of a Swiss teenager in the city 18months ago – yesterday told his trial that he did have sex with the victim– and that he accidently
killed her.
Last week the same court had heard that Gerald Barry, 29, of Rosán Glas, Rahoon, had told Gardai that he hadn’t been in the area where Manuela’s body was found, in the three weeks before her death.
That was despite evidence to the court last week that shortly after she was last seen, a number of texts and calls from his mobile phone bounced off phone masts located near where her body was found the following morning.
But yesterday Barry told the jury at the Central Criminal Court that he had indeed met Manuela Riedo on the night of her death in October, 2007.
In his evidence to the court, Barry said he had consensual sex with the victim. He told the court that after they had sex, he grabbed Ms Riedo and asked her to spend some more time with him.
However, he said that when she failed to respond to his next piece of conversation, he shook her and there was no response.
He told the court that he grabbed the 17-year-old from behind, but that, when he took his arm away shortly afterwards, her head flopped and she slid on to the ground.