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Mother who smothered toddler daughter not guilty of murder by reason of insanity
Summary
During a two‑day trial at the Central Criminal Court, a mother was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity after she smothered her three‑year‑old daughter with a pillow while the child was napping. The mother testified that she held the pillow over the child's face as the child struggled and screamed, and that she had been obsessed with the child's autism diagnosis, believing it to be a severe form called Pathological Demand Avoidance. She had searched online for "suicide" and "mothers killing autistic children" in the days before the killing. Two forensic psychiatrists testified that she suffered from severe depression with psychotic features and did not understand the nature of her act. The jury deliberated 54 minutes and returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. The judge ordered her to be committed to the Central Mental Hospital, with a further hearing scheduled for November 5.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Mother who smothered toddler daughter not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Not guilty by reason of insanity
When:
- February 13, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 5 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- February 4, 2018 Incident
- 2019-10-23 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Plea: Not guilty
Finding: Not guilty by reason of insanity
Outcome: Not guilty by reason of insanity; In her garda interviews, the mother said she thought about going to the beach to drown herself and had googled the words "suicide", "toddler suffocate pillow", "drowning", "mothers killing autistic child" and "sentence for murder" on her phone in the days leading up to the killing.
Places mentioned
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