A Dublin mum-of-three has pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility for stabbing a man to death outside her home after spending over a month on trial accused of murder.
Christina Anderson, who has been a patient at the Central Mental Hospital since shortly after she stabbed 39-year-old Gareth Kelly to death, had previously pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of insanity at the Central Criminal Court. Yesterday morning lawyers in the case revealed that the DPP has spent this week considering a plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Ms Anderson was arraigned on the new charge of manslaughter and pleaded guilty in front of the jury. Patrick McGrath SC, for the DPP, said the plea was accepted and the DPP intends to enter a “nolle prosequi” in relation to the murder charge at a sentencing hearing next April.
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Michael O’Higgins SC, who acted for Ms Anderson, said there were “ongoing difficulties on the defence side” arising from a report by consultant psychiatrist Prof Harry Kennedy and the decision to plead guilty to manslaughter was informed by this. The court had previously heard that Prof Kennedy disagreed with Dr Brenda Wright, a consultant psychiatrist called by the defence who said Ms Anderson was suffering from bipolar affective disorder and as a result of this was unable to refrain from stabbing Mr Kelly.
Prof Kennedy said Ms Anderson’s behaviour was better explained by cannabis intoxication. Intoxication cannot be used as a defence under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006.
Following the plea, Ms Anderson began to cry as Mr O’Higgins told the court his client wanted to “apologise profusely” to the Kelly family. Ms Justice Karen O’Connor will hear evidence and submissions relating to sentencing on April 17 when the Kelly family will also be invited to make impact statements to the court.
The judge remanded Ms Anderson in custody after hearing that the accused will be taken to the Dochas women’s prison before being transferred back to the CMH where she is undergoing treatment for her psychiatric condition.
Ms Anderson (41), of Brownsbarn Wood, Kingswood, Dublin 22, stabbed Mr Kelly five times as he tried to start his car outside her home at about 7am on February 25, 2020.
Opening the trial last December, Mr McGrath told the jury Mr Kelly had parked overnight in a space belonging to the Anderson home, something that happened from time to time to the annoyance of Ms Anderson.
Mr Kelly, who had never met Ms Anderson, was trying to start his car when she approached him and stabbed him before returning to her house. She then stabbed him again.
Friends and neighbours of Ms Anderson and her husband Mark Anderson said her behaviour had become erratic in the days and weeks leading up to the stabbing. In particular, she had become obsessed with what she falsely believed to be a criminal conspiracy among her neighbours involving gardai and senior politicians.
Mr Anderson told the trial the couple were cannabis users and would smoke two to three small joints in the evenings after their children had gone to bed. She had suffered bouts of depression and began seeing psychiatrists at the Mary Mercer clinic in 2017 and was given medication.
The day before the stabbing, she was still delusional but had periods of clear thinking, Mr Anderson said, and was willing to go to the psychiatric unit. They went to bed and the next morning Mr Anderson awoke when he heard the house alarm going off followed by a loud bang.
The alarm had been pulled off the wall and believed she had done it. He said he did not know that his wife had stabbed someone until gardai came to the house a short time later.
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