Mother accused of murdering her three children to face trial
THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has formally directed that a mother accused of murdering her three young children at their home will face Central Criminal Court trial.
The bodies of Deirdre Morley’s sons Conor (9) and Darragh (7) and daughter Carla (3) were found in their home at Parson’s Court in Newcastle, Co Dublin, just before 8pm on January 24.
Ms Morley (43) was remanded in custody by Dublin District Court five days later, with an order that she would receive a psychiatric assessment while in prison custody.
The woman, a nurse at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, was charged with three counts of murder.
She has been in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) since her first hearing.
Ms Morley has been unable to attend eight subsequent remand hearings and was not present again yesterday.
A sick note was furnished to Judge Bryan Smyth by the Prison Service.
He remanded her in continuing custody in her absence to appear again on July 22.
A State solicitor told the court the DPP has directed trial on indictment in the Central Criminal Court.
A book of evidence has to be prepared before she can be returned for trial.
Jonathan Dunphy, defending, was granted an order for gardaí to give him 48 hours’ notice once the book of evidence is ready so he can arrange for his client to attend court.
Earlier he told the court there was a doctor’s report stating “my client has been deemed fit to plead and the matter will go through the normal procedure”.
Ms Morley was found by a taxi driver near her house shortly before the children’s bodies were found. She was treated for days at Tallaght University Hospital before she was charged.
The children’s father, Andrew McGinley, arrived home at the same time gardaí and paramedics reached the house and when they went inside they found the children.
A note had been left to urge whoever came through the door of the family home not to proceed any further but to call gardaí instead.
At Ms Morley’s first hearing on January 29, Detective Sergeant Dara Kenny said: “She made no reply in response to each of the charges and was handed a copy of charge.”