Christina Anderson jailed for fatal stabbing of Gareth Kelly

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

Christina Anderson was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on 20 June 2023 to 11 years for manslaughter, with the final three years suspended for four years. Ms Justice Karen O’Connor required her to work with probation services and engage with psychiatric treatment for four years after her release, or face a further three years in custody.

Anderson stabbed Gareth Kelly five times as he tried to start his car near her home in Kingswood, Dublin, on 25 February 2020. She initially pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of insanity. In January 2023, more than a month into her trial, the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted her plea of guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility due to a mental disorder.

The judge said the attack would have ranked at the top end of manslaughter cases but for Anderson’s mental disorder. The State accepted that cannabis intoxication did not feature in the offence, despite it having been an issue during the trial.