The High Court hearing of the civil rape trial between Plaintiff Nikita Hand and Defendant Conor McGregor and co-defendant James Lawrence continued this afternoon before a jury of eight women and four men presided over by Mr. Justice Andrew Owens.
The court heard that on the night of 9th of December 2018 when Nikita Hand arrived back to the home she shared with her ex partner, Steven (Ste) Redmond, and their young daughter, that Ste had made an audio interaction of the exchange at the time unbeknownst to Nikita.
In all the recording was 37 minutes long. When Remy Farrell SC requested for the recording to be played for the court Hand immediately became visibly upset and sat on the stand for much of the airing of the recording with her head bowed over her chest.
Shortly after the playback commenced Hand began to cry on the stand, She told the court that she hadn’t listened to the recording for two years and didn’t remember much of its contents.
At the beginning of the exchange Hand said, “My body is sore”, and audibly crying, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry”
When Redmond said, “Just tell me what happened?” she replied, “I’m very shook up”.
She explained that she was in the penthouse with her colleague Ger and some others from work and that she couldn’t say specifically whose place they had gone to.
Redmond asked, “Whose apartment were you in?”
Hand replied. “He choked me. He told me he’d kill me.”
Here Hand repeatedly says she can’t tell Ste who it was and says “just please, just let me get my head straight”.
“I hope you don’t think I was a slut,” she said.
Redmond told Hand that he needed to know where she was. She replied that after the salon she and some others had gone to a hotel.
Here Hand explains that she had gone into town with Danielle and another friend and that her manager Eimear Brennan had gone home.
When Redmond asked Hand if she met with anyone else and if she was texting anyone else she said that she couldn’t say.
Emotional through the recording and audibly in tears at several points Hand asked to be given a few days to come to terms with what happened.
When Redmond pressed her to tell him who she had met in town she said that she wouldn’t say who the man who she alleged assaulted her was saying “I’m afraid”.
She explained that she had her periods and that her tampon was stuck inside her and she didn’t know where it was exactly.
Hand said that she won’t tell Redmond who the man in question is because she “can’t face” going to the Gardaí. She pleads with Redmond not to get the Gardaí involved.
She asked Redmond to stop asking her questions and to “please just look after me.”
“You don’t need to do anything Ste.” she said.
Redmond said that this was not a case where someone could just shut up and say nothing.
“You’re after being out with the girls where are they?”, he asked
“How do you know nothing’s gonna happen to them?”
To this question Hand replied,. “I don’t care. I only care about myself”
Here Redmond repeats his concern that the other women Hand said she was out with could be in danger from the man she says attacked her.
The pair had a disagreement over details of where Hand had been that night. Hand had told Redmond that she was in The Goat. Not satisfied that this was true he asked her to be honest with him.
Hand asked, “Do you not understand how hard this is for me, no?”
As the conversation continued, becoming more fraught, Hand told Redmond to “fuck off” and “stop quizzing” her.
She accused him of not caring about her to which he answered, “I do care.”
“I don’t give a fuck who threatened you” he said.
“I don’t give a fuck who warned you or threatend you, I just want to know where you were.” he said.
In the courtroom Hand remained on the stand with her head hung low as the recording was played. At one point she could be heard audibly sobbing.
On the recording Redmond warned Hand that if she went to bed and fell asleep that she might forget the details of what had happened to her.
Hand said aloud, “I can’t go through anymore of this I can’t”
As the recording played Hand’s voice saying, “He was choking me” she could be heard sobbing on the witness stand.
A few seconds later in the recording when Redmond said, “I just want to fucking process all this” Hand responds “Process it? “How do you think I’m fucking feeling?”.
She made a remark about being seen as a “slut” and said, “I’m not like that, I’m not, I’m not”.
Through the rest of the interaction Hand Redmond continue to discuss the alleged incident.
Redmond offers to take Hand to St. James’ hospital immediately and says he will take next day off work.
As Hand becomes increasingly upset she was heard telling Redmond repeatedly to “fuck off” and on at least two occasions to “shut up”.
Hand said that she was “after being raped and all you care about is who done it.”.
She accused Redmond of only caring about himself to which he responded. “I don’t give a fuck about me,”.
Earlier on in the trial Hand told the court that after the alleged rape she had gone to her manager Eimear Brennan’s house.
She said that Brennan had told her not to shower and to contact the Rape Crisis Centre.
She also previously testified that when she got back to the home she then shared with Redmond he had given her a fresh pair of pajamas and she had gone to bed.
She said that she wasn’t able to face going to the Gardaí about the rape but that after her mother had called an ambulance on Monday morning, the morning after the alleged incident, the ambulance crew had contact the Gardaí.
Hand said she couldn’t face a Garda interview and waited until the next month (January 2019) to give her first interview to Detective Sergeant Peter Woods.
She said she waited until January because she wanted her young daughter to have a “normal Christmas”.
The case continues before Mr. Justice Andrew Owens and a jury this morning.