Man found naked in rural field ‘told the gardaí that he killed his wife and children’
He’s charged with spouse’s murder but has entered insanity plea at trial
A MAN was found naked in a field after he killed his wife at their rural Co. Mayo home nearly four years ago, a jury has heard.
The trial of James Kilroy, 49, opened at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
A prosecuting barrister said the jury will have to assess if he was ‘simply guilty of murder’ as the State contends, or if he was insane at the time of the killing or suffered from a mental disorder that diminished his responsibility.
Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said a mental disorder did not include intoxication and that this was important in the case.
The jury heard that Valerie French Kilroy’s body was found in a camper van on the grounds of her home, which was located in a remote rural area around 6km from Westport in Co. Mayo.
She had died from strangulation with a ligature as well as blunt force trauma to the head and a stab wound to the neck, the court heard. Evidence will be given, said the lawyer, that Mr Kilroy was displaying ‘erratic behaviour’ and was found naked in a field in the
Displaying ‘erratic behaviour’
Westport area. He was taken to Castlebar Hospital where he was assessed and later told gardaí he had ‘killed his wife and kids’, the court heard. The three young children were later found unharmed.
Mr Kilroy, with an address at Kilbree Lower, Westport, Co. Mayo, is charged with murdering mother-of-three Ms French Kilroy, 41, at their home on a date unknown between June 13 and 14, 2019, both dates inclusive.
He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Opening the prosecution’s case yesterday, Ms Lawlor told the jury that there are two parts to a crime; the physical act and the intention. In this case, she said the physical act of killing Ms French Kilroy was accepted by the accused. ‘What isn’t accepted is that he had a guilty mind or the intention to cause the death,’ she added.
There will be evidence, Ms Lawlor said, concerning the psychiatric state of Mr Kilroy. A person is not guilty of the offence if they were suffering from a mental disorder, she said.
‘That is the first hurdle: were they suffering from a mental disorder that does not include intoxication? That’s important as you will see in this case,’ she stated.
The second issue, the prosecution barrister said, that the jury will be asked to determine is whether the accused has a mental disorder and whether he knew the nature of what he was doing or knew it was wrong or was unable to stop himself.
The jury will be hearing about the defence of diminished responsibility, said the lawyer.
The court heard further evidence will come from a variety of experts as to what Mr Kilroy’s mental state was at the time and whether he has a mental disorder.
The jury will then have to assess if he had a mental disorder that diminished his responsibility, the court was told. The defence of insanity or diminished responsibility is on the balance of probabilities and not beyond a reasonable doubt, the lawyer said.
Ms Lawlor said Ms French Kilroy was a senior occupational therapist for Mayo Mental Health Services and had married the accused in April 2008. They had been partners for the previous ten years and had three dearly loved young children, who were conceived through IVF, she said.
The Kilroys lived in a bungalow around 6km from Westport and 11km from Castlebar.
The lawyer also indicated to the jury that this was where Ms French Kilroy had been killed.
On the night of June 13, 2019, Ms French Kilroy had arrived home after spending an evening with a friend and her body was found the following afternoon by gardaí, said the barrister.
Counsel said the evidence will be that gardaí were first notified of Mr Kilroy’s actions in or around 3am on June 14, when a woman contacted gardaí to say that a man had come to her door in Doon in Westport.
She said the man was displaying ‘erratic behaviour’, but when gardaí arrived at the house there was no one there, the court was told. It is accepted that the man was the accused, said Ms Lawlor.
The court heard that later the same morning at around 9.40am, another man, who was also living near Westport, contacted gardaí to say he saw a naked man in a field. The barrister said the jury would hear a ‘potted account’ from this witness.
The court will also hear evidence, the lawyer said, from a female garda who dealt with Mr Kilroy and said the accused was disoriented. Mr Kilroy was brought to Castlebar Hospital where he was required to be assessed, the court heard. When Mr Kilroy was in the hospital, he said he ‘killed his wife and kids’, which immediately prompted gardaí to see if this was true, the trial heard.
Gardaí arrived at the accused’s home at 2.55pm following the admission and ‘thankfully ascertained’ that the children had not been the subject of any assault and were unharmed, counsel said.
The barrister stated that gardaí found Ms French Kilroy dead in a camper van on the grounds.
Ms Lawlor explained that the State’s case at the end of the entire process would be that the offence of murder is made out.
The trial continues before Judge Mary Ellen Ring and a jury of ten men and two women.
Children ‘were unharmed’