Courts / Dublin / Report

Issue as to whether Christina Anderson was intoxicated with cannabis, lawyers tell murder trial

Date
2022-12-07

Stage
Trial

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Christina Anderson, 41, of Brownsbarn Wood, Kingswood, Dublin 22, is charged with murdering Gareth Kelly, 39, who was stabbed five times on 25 February 2020 as he tried to start his car outside her home. She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial, heard in the Central Criminal Court, focuses on whether her behaviour when she stabbed Mr Kelly was driven by mental illness or by cannabis intoxication. Her husband, Mark Anderson, called her psychiatric clinic the day before the incident, but did not testify. Dr Thomas McMonagle, one of her treating psychiatrists, testified that Anderson used cannabis sometimes daily but also abstained for long periods, and that she had told doctors it did not cause paranoia. He described her as normally measured and in control, but at the Garda station she appeared psychotic and not in contact with reality, though he found her fit for interview.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Issue as to whether Christina Anderson was intoxicated with cannabis, lawyers tell murder trial. Charges or matters: murdering Gareth Kelly (39), who was stabbed five times as he tried to start his car outside Ms Anderson's home on the morning of February 25, 2020. Procedural stage: trial

When:

February 25, 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
2022-12-07 Publication

Case subjects

Christina Anderson

Accused

Charges: murdering Gareth Kelly (39), who was stabbed five times as he tried to start his car outside Ms Anderson's home on the morning of February 25, 2020 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty