Bernadette Scully jury told to set emotion aside

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Bernadette Scully has denied manslaughter at the Central Criminal Court. She is accused of killing her profoundly disabled 11-year-old daughter, Emily Barut, by gross negligence on 15 September 2012. The proceedings were reported on 13 December 2016.

Judge Patrick McCarthy told the jury to leave emotion aside and approach the case in a cool and collected manner after prosecution and defence closing arguments.

Prosecuting counsel Tara Burns alleged that Scully gave toxic amounts of chloral hydrate. She said the prosecution had to prove a duty of care breached by gross negligence and that the sedative was a substantial cause of death, rather than the only cause. Burns said Scully’s love and attention to her daughter were unquestioned. The prosecution was not alleging an intention to kill or premeditation.

The report said the sedative level in Emily’s system was ten times the therapeutic level and State Pathologist Marie Cassidy’s opinion was that death resulted from chloral hydrate intoxication. Cassidy acknowledged that any of Emily’s medical conditions could have caused her death on any given day, but maintained her opinion about the cause.

Defence counsel Ken Fogarty argued that Emily could have died from a terminal seizure at any time. He said there was no formula linking the amount of chloral hydrate administered to the trichloroethanol found in her system, and that a toxic dose did not mean a fatal one. Burns said red neurons in brain tissue indicated that Emily had survived the seizure suggested by the defence as a possible cause of death.