Courts / Meath / Report

Accused told psychiatrist he was 'on mission from God' to kill wife, jury hears

Date
2023-11-10

Stage
Trial

Primary locality
Navan

County
Meath

Summary

At the Central Criminal Court, a consultant psychiatrist told a jury that a man charged with murder disclosed he was "on a mission from God to kill" his wife during a mental health assessment conducted before her body was discovered. Dr Camilla Curtis of Mayo Mental Health Services stated the accused presented with acute psychotic symptoms and posed a significant risk to himself and others, yet she determined he could not be detained in the low-security adult mental health unit in Castlebar. The man, aged 50, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Ms Valerie French Kilroy at their home in Kilbree Lower, Westport, County Mayo, between June 13 and 14, 2019. The court heard he was found running naked in a field outside Westport and subsequently confessed to gardaí, stating he had stabbed his wife in the throat with a kitchen knife. The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury at the Central Criminal Court.