A JURY in the trial of the Polish woman accused of killing long-distance runner Michal Rejmer at the home they shared in Limerick, told Gardai, “I did it. It was me. I killed Michal”.
Monika Matracka (35) with an address at The Pines, Briarfield, Castletroy, pleaded not guilty to murdering Michal Rejmer (38) between 8pm on December 30 and midnight on December 31, 2015.
During the trial at the Central Criminal Court, the jury heard that the Polish man’s body was found wrapped in a blood stained bed sheet and covered with plastic, wooden pallets and bags of turf in the back garden of the Castletroy home.
Mr Rejmer’s body was discovered eight days after he was last seen and when she was arrested Ms Matracka is claimed to have told Gardaí she stabbed her housemate and former partner in self-defence.
Detective Garda Pat Whelan brought her to the house to make a witness statement about Mr Rejmer’s disappearance. She said she was in a relationship with him for a year before he moved to Ireland in 2006 and they continued a long-distance relationship until she moved to Ireland in 2012. By the time they moved house to Castletroy in 2014, their relationship had ended.
She said that he asked for a €300 loan and reminded her about the financial assistance he gave her when she was studying in Poland.
Det Gda Whelan agreed to bring Ms Matracka to a friend’s house as her home was a designated crime scene. When she was refused entry to her friend’s house, he brought her to a nearby service station where she drank coffee and smoked.
She became upset and he asked her what was wrong. She replied; “I did it. It was me. I killed Michal.”
She was arrested after she added “I killed Michal in the house. I stabbed him upstairs, not in any room.
“I put something on his head. Then I put plastic bag over him and bring him outside, same place he was found. I bad person I don’t want to live anymore.”
Ms Matracka has denied the murder charge and claimed self-defence.
The trial before Mr Justice Paul Butler and a jury of six men and six women also heard that when Mr Rejmer was reported missing on January 6, 2015, Ms Matracka “didn’t seem overly concerned” when friends spoke to her.
Two days later, his body was found by a neighbour who was part of the search party.
Neighbours said they heard an argument on December 30 coming from upstairs in the house, followed by a loud bang and then silence.
Ms Matracka claims that she stabbed Mr Rejmer in self-defence and that his body remained in the house for three days before she dragged it to the back garden.
The jury is expected to begin its deliberations on Monday.
