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.
Some readers may find the following report distressing.
Around 150 people have come to a special mass here at St Finian's in Newcastle. It's only a short walk from where the three children's bodies where found. pic.twitter.com/KEMBbQO43l
— Tom Douglas (@TomDouglas95) January 25, 2020
The above is a tweet from the day after the children's remains were found.
"Don't Go Into The Front Room Or Upstairs"
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.
Then she 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.
He found 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.
