Stephen McKinney (44) of Castletown Square, Fintona is alleged to have murdered Lu Na, on a date between 11 and 14 April 2017, during a family trip on a hired cruiser.

They had moored at Devenish Island for the night, and it was there during the early hours, Lu Na entered the water.

According to McKinney she went on deck to secure the mooring ropes after believing the boat had moved.

Her death was originally treated as a tragic drowning accident until a number of witnesses raised suspicions.

McKinney denies the charge and insists he tried to save his wife by jumping into the water, and despite catching hold of her, she slipped from his grasp.

The prosecution say McKinney was a controlling individual who had grown tired of his wife but could not accept she may divorce him.

The second week of the trial at Dungannon Crown Court began with evidence from a specially trained officer who is also an RNLI crew member who was called to the scene. 

He said when they arrived at the scene he could see a  male standing on the back. The officer said he shouted, and the man didn’t answer. 

“I saw a black object in the water at the back of the boat, practically touching it,” the PSNI officer told the trial.

He observed McKinney to be wet and wrapped in a red blanket.

“I believe he said, ‘she’s here’ but was very quiet.”

Having boarded McKinney’s boat, the officer found the deck very wet and on checking the black object in the water, noted it had moved around 1-2 feet away.

“I could see a black coat with a fur-trimmed hood and what appeared to be a hand just under the surface of the water. I used a boat hook to bring this toward me. It was a person. I brought them closer.”

The man then helped remove the body from the water, and he tried to revive her by doing chest compressions.

While resuscitation continued, the officer believed he heard her sternum crack and noticed: “Bubbles coming from her mouth containing a substance.”

Last week the trial heard McKinney’s 999 call, in which he could be heard stating “my wife fell in the water and I can’t see her.”

He said his wife had gone to check the boat’s ropes when she fell, and said he needed to go find her.

When told not to put himself in danger, he replied: “Just f***ing come, please man. I’m f***ing cold man. I have to go find Lu Na.”

The previous day a marine engineer, who had demonstrated to McKinney how to use their hired boat, told the trial he had not tried to mislead the police. This was after it was discovered a Boat Acceptance Certificate, which contains details of life-jacket provision, was missing in the immediate aftermath of Lu Na’s death.

The issue was pertinent as McKinney had said as there were only two life jackets on board the boat, he and his wife had given them to their two children. On Wednesday, the prosecution argued the shortage of life-jackets had been “part of grand scheme” to kill his wife.

The trial continues.