A woman on trial for fatally stabbing her 94-year-old father told gardaí that she heard God say he was not her “daddy” but an intruder who she should stab in the heart.
A prosecution barrister told the 12 jurors at the Central Criminal Court that murder accused Julie Flood was in the throes of a psychotic state when she attacked Patrick Flood in their Co Wexford home on April 12th, 2019.
Shane Costelloe SC, prosecuting, told the court that the experts in the case agree that Ms Flood fell within the legal definition of someone who was insane at the time.
Michael Delaney SC, defending, made three formal admissions to the court on behalf of Ms Flood. He said she stabbed her father with a kitchen knife; that the single stab wound inflicted caused his death two days later; and that the accused was properly arrested and detained by gardaí.
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Ms Flood (51), with an address at The Oyle, Oylegate, Enniscorthy, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to her father’s murder.
Unusual case
Opening the prosecution’s case, Mr Costelloe told the 12 jurors this was a somewhat unusual case and that much of what will be put forward in evidence is agreed between the parties. He said there will be no issue about Mr Flood’s cause of death and that the issue will be whether the accused was sane or insane at the time she stabbed him.
Outlining the facts of the case, Mr Costelloe said the incident happened on April 12th, 2019 which was Mr Flood’s 94th birthday.
Counsel said the State alleges that Ms Flood was in the throes of a psychotic or mental state where she thought God was instructing her that the person she was seeing in her house “was not her dad” but someone who took his form and she was to stab him. She stabbed him, left the house and went to the road and flagged down a motorist, Alan Somers.
The court heard that Mr Somers went into the house and found Mr Flood bleeding profusely from the wound to his abdomen. He was conscious at the time and able to engage with gardaí when they arrived.
Mr Flood was brought to the local hospital, where a decision was made “in fairly short order” that he required surgery, counsel said. It appeared at first that he might pull through but he died two days later.
Regarding the evidence against the accused, Mr Costelloe said Ms Flood was in a heightened state when she was arrested, detained and questioned by gardaí.
Flagged down
Mr Somers gave evidence that he was driving to work on a by-road leading onto the main Wexford to Enniscorthy Road at 7.15am when he saw a woman trying to flag people down. He agreed it was immediately apparent to him that the woman was in a state of distress.
He went to the house and saw an older man wearing chequered pyjamas who was covered in blood and in some distress standing by the porch. The man said “she is after stabbing me”, referring to the accused, Mr Somers said. The witness said he called 999 and that the accused remained outside the house and continued to appear to be in distress.
Mr Costelloe read a statement from Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster who conducted the postmortem on Mr Flood. She said the deceased had an open wound to his upper left abdomen and that the knife had penetrated through skin and muscle. The stab wound was 3.5cm long and there were no defence injuries identified on his hands or forearms.
Dr Bolster said Mr Flood was suffering from severe heart disease which he could have died from at any time. She said the cause of death was congested cardiac failure complicated by ischemic colitis on the background of a recent stab wound.
Unable to sleep
Det Garda Darren Coleman said when the accused was fit to be questioned on April 23rd she told gardaí she was in her bedroom that morning and could not sleep. “I heard God say ‘he’s not your daddy, stab him in the heart three times, stab him, stab him, stab him’,” said Ms Flood.
The accused said she asked “why do you want me to stab him” and the voice said “he’s not your dad” so she stabbed him and called an ambulance. Ms Flood said she did not know why she did it but that she must be mentally ill and that she has had a mental illness since she was 13.
Mr Flood told Dr Paul Cromwell before he died that he had woken up at 7am and found his daughter standing in the hall screaming at him that he was an imposter. He said the accused then stabbed him in the stomach.
The trial continues.