Woman who cannot be named pleads not guilty to murder

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A woman who cannot be named by order of the court pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of her three-year-old daughter.

The proceedings were reported on 22 October 2019. The trial was before the Central Criminal Court.

The jury heard that the woman suffocated her daughter with a pillow while the child was taking an afternoon nap. The trial also heard that she described to gardaí how she held the pillow over the child’s face as she struggled and screamed.

Dr Sally Linehan, a consultant psychiatrist from the Central Mental Hospital, said the woman had recurrent depressive disorder with an element of psychosis at the time. She said the woman’s mental health had deteriorated following her daughter’s autism diagnosis and that she had developed a conviction that she must kill her.

Dr Linehan said the woman did not know what she was doing was wrong and could not refrain from the act. She said she was satisfied the woman met the criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The report said the trial would continue on Wednesday.

This case may have concluded differently. The outcome has not yet been confirmed by a public source we could find.