Courts / Louth / Report

Provocation: The Trial of Paula Farrell

Date
2020-03-30

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Drogheda

County
Louth

Summary

Paula Farrell, convicted of the murder of Wayne McQuillan, is currently at the appeal stage of her legal proceedings. The Central Criminal Court trial heard that Farrell stabbed McQuillan four times on New Year's Day 2014 in Drogheda. McQuillan, who was six times over the drink-driving limit, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest after a 30-minute ambulance delay. Farrell, who had no previous convictions, claimed she acted in self-defense after McQuillan allegedly attempted to sexually assault and strangle her. She testified that she stabbed him to stop the abuse, though she admitted to washing her hands and leaving the knife in the sink. Defense experts attributed her actions to PTSD stemming from childhood sexual abuse and alcohol dependency, while prosecution experts argued her behavior was primarily driven by intoxication. Farrell was found guilty of murder, rejecting the defense argument for a manslaughter conviction based on provocation. The current procedural stage is an appeal against this conviction.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Provocation: The Trial of Paula Farrell. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted

When:

January 1, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
February 2013 Other
June 2018 Incident
New Year Incident
New Year's morning Other
New Year's Eve Incident
New Year's Day 2014 Incident
2020-03-30 Publication

Why: She testified that she felt "numb" and "in shock" at the time of killing because of the sexual abuse she had allegedly endured as a child. CNI source report