Robert Wilkin: Woman told friends she was a murderer, court told


A court in Dublin has heard that a woman accused of murdering Robert Wilkin told friends she was responsible and said “if I go down, I go down.” Wilkin’s body was found in the sea at the foot of the Slieve League cliffs. Nikita Burns, 23, and Alan Vial, 39, both deny the murder. On 25 June 2023, Burns allegedly told an acquaintance that she and Vial had hit Wilkin on the head with a rock before pushing him off the cliff. Burns was described by a witness as being ‘a bit panicky’ when she returned home looking ‘out of it’.

The phone call in which Burns allegedly described the attack was recorded by acquaintance Sharon O’Dowd, and was played to the court. “It was traumatising,” Burns said. “They won’t find him, he was thrown over Slieve League, they won’t find him,” she added. O’Dowd subsequently contacted Irish police and handed over two phones.

Burns stayed at the home of Chris Quinn in Letterkenny. Quinn testified that on the night of the murder, Burns came home at around 23:30 local time, changed her clothes, and told those present that she was a murderer. “She said they started fighting with him [Robert Wilkin] in the back [of the car], the two of them, she said a rock was used,” Mr Quinn said. He added that he heard laughing in the room where Burns was talking to others.

The trial of Burns and Vial continues in Dublin

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