A man went on trial on Monday, accused of murdering his then-partner’s 89-year-old mother by allegedly smothering and strangling her.
Hasan Ali Gori (52), of no fixed abode, denied a single charge of murdering Josephine “Josie” Ray at her home, which she shared with her daughter Mary Ray and the accused, in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.
Ali Gori, who is using the services of an interpreter in court, replied “not guilty, sir” when arraigned before Judge Sean Gillane, on the charge that he murdered Ray at her home at St Joseph’s Park, Nenagh, on August 4th, 2024.
Prosecuting barrister Lorcan Connolly opened the trial in front of a jury of nine men and three women at the Central Criminal Court in Limerick.
“Josie Ray was killed at the hands of Hasan Ali Gori,” he said. “She was found dead in her bed.
“She died by asphyxiation after external compression of her neck – Josie Ray was smothered and strangled,” Connolly told the jury.
“You’ll hear about inward fractures caused by this compression and DNA matching the accused found on the fingernails of the late Josie Ray.
“The prosecution says there was a close physical struggle – perhaps Josie was trying to defend herself – and the person who did it was Hasan Ali Gori.”
Connolly said that while “nobody saw him do it, so perhaps it is a circumstantial case”, the prosecution case is that Ali Gori “had motive” and that his DNA was “found on the victim’s fingernails”.
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He said Ali Gori also had “opportunity” to kill the victim “who was in her bedroom in her own home”, which she shared with the accused.
Connolly claimed Ali Gori and Mary Ray were involved in “a volatile and tempestuous” relationship at the time of Josie Ray’s death.
Connolly said that before the alleged killing, Ali Gori had “struck up” a relationship with Mary Ray, then 55, who has a “learning disability” and who shared a “close bond” with her mother.
“Hasan Ali Gori was Mary Ray’s cohabitant for social welfare purposes, and he ultimately came to live [with her]. Hasan Ali Gori was dependent on the Rays for accommodation.
“He and Mary shared an upstairs bedroom, and in August 2024, there was a fractious atmosphere in the house, and Josie Ray was killed at the hands of Hasan Ali Gori,” he added.
Connolly said Josie Ray was “a well-known and sprightly lady regularly seen out and about” in her native Nenagh.
He said Josie Ray’s marriage had broken down in the 1980s and while four of her five daughters lived with her husband, she and her daughter Mary resided together.
Connolly said that before her death, Josie Ray was not suffering from any acute medical condition. She had been recovering from a broken hip in early 2024, which left her unable to walk upstairs, and so she was sleeping in a downstairs front room in her home.
“She was a small, frail, 89-year-old lady,” said Connolly.
He said Josie Ray left her home that evening to stay with one of her daughters, but, at some stage, “returned to her home, uninjured, well and normal”.
Later on, after 2am, neighbours saw Josie Ray smoking a cigarette outside her house, “and that was her last time she was seen alive”.
Prosecution witness Samuel Abuchie, a grandson of the victim, gave evidence of raising the alarm after finding his grandmother’s body, at around noon on August 4th.
A 999 call the witness made to emergency services in respect of his grandmother was played in court.
The trial continues.