Jury shown knife husband said he used to kill wife

At the Central Criminal Court, a jury has been presented with a bloodied and severely bent knife in connection with the death of Valerie French Kilroy at her rural home near Westport, County Mayo, in June 2019. Park Kilroy, aged fifty, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the charge of murder. The prosecution has indicated that psychiatric evidence will feature prominently in proceedings. The court heard that following the discovery of the deceased's body in a camper van on the property at Kilbree Lower, the accused identified the knife as the instrument he had used. A post-mortem examination determined the cause of death to be ligature strangulation, blunt force trauma, and a stab wound to the neck. The defence's insanity plea requires the jury to consider whether the accused was suffering from a mental disorder at the time that prevented him from understanding the nature or wrongfulness of his actions. The trial, overseen by Mr Justice Paul McDermott, is expected to continue for approximately three weeks.