Courts / Dublin / Report

Jury to resume deliberations tomorrow in Deirdre Morley trial

Date
2021-05-19

Stage
Finding

Primary locality
Crumlin

County
Dublin

Summary

In the Deirdre Morley trial, two psychiatrists testified that the accused, a 44‑year‑old nurse, suffered from a mental disorder at the time of the killings. Dr Brenda Wright, for the defence, described her as having bipolar affective disorder and believed she thought it morally right to kill her children, who were aged 9, 7 and 3. Dr Mary Davoren, for the prosecution, said she had a severe depressive disorder and, although she knew she was killing the children, her depression impaired her ability to appreciate the wrongness of her actions. The jury, after an hour and 28 minutes of deliberation, will return tomorrow to decide whether a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity applies. The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Coffey.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Jury to resume deliberations tomorrow in Deirdre Morley trial. Procedural stage: finding. Findings: Not guilty by reason of insanity

When:

January 24 Incident
September 2019 Incident
March 2018 Other
October 2018 Other
July 2018 Other
January 2019 Other
February 2019 Other
July 2019 Incident
November 2019 Other
December 2019 Other
January 10 2020 Other
January 20 Other
March 2020 Other
January 26 Other
1998 and 2017 Other
2021-05-19 Publication

Why: Dr Wright agreed with Mr Bowman that a recurring theme in her reports was of her struggling to cope, being overwhelmed and her anxiety impacting on her children because of her mental health. CNI source report