Jury In Trial Of Woman Accused Of Murdering Her 3 Children Told Hears Details About How They Died.

Tuesday, 18 May 2021 13:40

Deirdre Morley, of Parson’s Court, Newcastle, Co Dublin, claims she was suffering from a mental disorder at the time

The jury in the trial of a woman accused of murdering her three young children has been hearing details about how she took their lives.

Deirdre Morley, of Parson’s Court, Newcastle, Co Dublin, claims she was suffering from a mental disorder at the time and has pleaded NOT guilty by reason of insanity.

Our Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney has this report, which some listeners may find distressing:

"On the morning of Jan 24th last year, Deirdre Morley suffocated her 7yo son, Darragh, and her 3yo daughter, Carla.

She then took her eldest son, 9yo Conor, out of school early, and did the same to him in a play tent in their living room.

Her husband, who was working in Cork that day, returned that evening to find paramedics treating her outside the house.

A note was attached to a bike inside. It read: “Don’t go into the front room or upstairs. I’m so sorry”

Her husband did. He was the one who found Conor’s body. A note beside him read: “I’m so sorry. I could see no future. This is my fault. I’m broken and can’t be fixed.”

The prosecuting barrister, Anne Marie Lawlor, told the jurors that what happened to the children wasn’t in dispute. “Intent is at the heart of this entire case”, she said. "

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