A 51-year-old woman with paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed her elderly father to death on his 94th birthday because she believed the voice of God had told her he was an impostor intent on hurting her has been found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court deliberated for just 48 minutes on Thursday before returning a unanimous verdict in the trial of Julie Flood, with an address at The Oyle, Oylegate, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. Ms Flood had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of her father, Patrick Flood, on April 14th, 2019.
The jury heard evidence from two psychiatrists who agreed that Ms Flood did not know what she was doing was wrong when she stabbed him.
When the verdict was read out, Ms Flood said: “Thank you very much, jury, thank you very much for your patience, thank you very much for supporting me.”
Housing in Ireland is among the most expensive and most affordable in the EU. How does that happen?
Ceann comhairle election key task as 34th Dáil convenes for first time
Your EV questions answered: Am I better to drive my 13-year-old diesel until it dies than buy a new EV?
Workplace wrangles: Staying on the right side of your HR department, and more labrynthine aspects of employment law
Mr Justice Paul McDermott thanked the jury for their attention in the case and excused them from jury service for the next five years. He adjourned the matter to Friday to finalise the arrangements for Ms Flood’s care.
During the trial, evidence was given by witness Alan Somers, who said that he was driving to work on the morning of April 12th when he saw a woman trying to flag people down. He said the woman was hysterical, and she told him: “I’m after stabbing my daddy.”
Mr Somers ran up to the woman’s house and saw an elderly man wearing check pyjamas who was covered in blood and in some distress standing by the porch entrance. Mr Somers gave evidence that the man said: “She is after stabbing me.”
Ms Flood told gardaí that she heard God say: “He’s not your daddy, stab him in the heart three times, stab him, stab him, stab him.”
Mr Flood died two days later on April 14th. Before he died, Mr Flood told Dr Paul Cromwell that he had woken up at 7am on April 12th to find his daughter standing in the hall screaming at him that he was an impostor. He said his daughter had come up to him and stabbed him in the stomach.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster, who conducted a postmortem on Mr Flood, said that 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.
The jury heard evidence from two psychiatrists concerning Ms Flood’s mental health history.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Brenda Wright gave evidence to defence counsel Michael Delaney SC that Ms Flood experienced auditory hallucinations over the years. Dr Wright said that Ms Flood had a “close relationship with God”, and she would talk to God and he would comfort her.
Dr Wright said that Ms Flood heard voices telling her, “This is not your real father” and felt tormented by these. Ms Flood experienced delusions of being raped and felt “an evil man” would intrude into her house and rape her.
Ms Flood said that a voice told her that her father “wasn’t my daddy”, and Dr Wright said that this was a “delusion of misidentification”, where someone believes that a person known to them has been replaced and is now a threat to them.
The witness said that her diagnosis of Ms Flood was one of schizophrenia. She said that at the time of the stabbing, Ms Flood did not know the nature and quality of her actions.
Doctor Sally Linehan, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital, called on behalf of the prosecution, gave evidence to Shane Costello SC that she had reached the same conclusions as Dr Wright.
Dr Linehan said her diagnosis of Ms Flood was that she has paranoid schizophrenia. She said that at the time of the stabbing, Ms Flood was suffering a relapse of her schizophrenic illness.
“I’m satisfied that she fulfils the criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity,” said Dr Linehan.
In his closing statement on behalf of the prosecution, Mr Costello said that the jury could be certain that the elements of the offence of murder had been proved in this case.
He said it would be “perverse” for them not to accept the evidence of the two psychiatrists, and if they accepted it, they must return the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
In the closing statement for the defence, Mr Delaney said that Ms Flood, who was 48 at the time of the stabbing, had been living with her elderly father and the pair were “devoted to each other”.
“On the morning of his 94th birthday, she picks up a knife and stabs him, and brings to an end the life of someone so important to her,” he said.
“There is nothing in the evidence to provide any rational explanation as to why she did what she did that morning to her father,” said Mr Delaney.
He said that Ms Flood had an active mental illness, and she met all three conditions under the mental health act: she did not understand what she was doing; she did not know what she was doing was wrong; and she was unable to refrain from doing it.