A park ranger who said he was “on a mission from god” when he killed his wife was likely to have been suffering from drug-induced psychosis after many years of cannabis use, a psychiatrist has told the Central Criminal Court.
Dr Ronan Mullaney said the accused man, James Kilroy had bizarre delusional beliefs that his wife was involved in a plan with others to torture and kill him.
Mr Kilroy described owls talking to him and communicating with god in the period leading up to the killing and was “acutely psychotic” following his arrest, Dr Mullaney said.
Having interviewed Mr Kilroy and studied notes from other psychiatrists and interviews Mr Kilroy gave at the time, he concluded that Mr Kilroy was suffering from drug-induced psychosis and qualifies for the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006.
‘I’m hoping at least one girl who is on the fence about reporting her violent boyfriend ... will read about my case’
What Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens promised in 2020 - and how much they delivered
Ciara Mageean: ‘I just felt numb. It wasn’t even sadness, it was just emptiness’
Restaurateur Gráinne O’Keefe: I cut out sugar from my diet and here’s how it went
James Kilroy (51) has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering his wife Valerie French Kilroy at their home at Kilbree Lower, Westport, Co Mayo, between June 13rd and 14th, 2019. The 41-year-old mother of three died from strangulation, blunt force trauma and a stab wound to the neck.
Dr Mullaney told defence counsel Patrick Gageby SC that during interviews, Mr Kilroy described using a number of different drugs, including cannabis, ecstasy and LSD in his youth.
Since 2001, he said he has only used cannabis and would sometimes smoke but had also made cannabis butter that he baked into cookies.
In 2018, Mr Kilroy said he spent €230 on a type of cannabis called AK-47. Dr Mullaney said AK-47 is said to be high in THC, which is responsible for the cannabis high.
In 2019, Mr Kilroy said he discovered another type of cannabis that has no THC but contains CBD, which Dr Mullaney said is thought to be responsible for the anti-anxiety effects of cannabis without the intoxicating effects.
Mr Kilroy said he would mix the two types together and smoke them in a rolled cigarette.
Dr Mullaney said that at the time of the killing it is probable that Mr Kilroy was suffering from acute psychosis and it is “highly likely” that cannabis use had a role in the evolution of that psychosis.
However, he said it would not be reasonable to expect Mr Kilroy would have anticipated that by using cannabis he would become so mentally disordered that he would kill his wife.
He was likely, Dr Mullaney said, to have suffered significant impairment in his mental function and to have been deprived of his ability to regulate his emotions. He had a preoccupation with bizarre paranoid delusions, including that he was being watched, that he would be captured, tortured and killed and that his wife had become involved in plans to have him harmed and killed.
It is also likely that the accused experienced abnormal perceptions including animals advising him and communications with god which he did not recognise to be abnormal hallucinations. Dr Mullaney diagnosed Mr Kilroy with drug-induced psychosis, which he said is different to intoxication.
A blood test carried out on Mr Kilroy on the day he was arrested for killing his wife was negative for cannabis and metabolites that would typically remain in the blood for one week after cannabis use. Dr Mullaney said the negative result suggested that Mr Kilroy had not used cannabis for at least one week, long after the intoxicating effects of the drug would have worn off.
He concluded that Mr Kilroy believed his wife was planning to have him tortured and killed and therefore did not know that killing her was wrong and was unable to refrain from killing her. The doctor said Mr Kilroy meets the criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Under cross-examination Dr Mullaney told prosecution counsel Anne-Marie Lawlor SC that when interviewing a patient he presumes they are trying to tell the truth unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. He agreed that he presumed that what Mr Kilroy told him was the truth.
Ms Lawlor put it to Dr Mullaney that a person in Mr Kilroy’s position, having killed his wife, would have an “obvious motivation to mislead, misrepresent and to intentionally or unintentionally provide information to protect their own interests.”
Dr Mullaney said people can be self-serving and he would always keep that in mind but it “doesn’t automatically necessitate a default position that someone is misleading.”
Dr Mullaney disagreed with a suggestion that Mr Kilroy had minimised the extent of his drug use, saying there was evidence that he in fact exaggerated his drug use.
Ms Lawlor will continue her cross examination before Mr Justice Tony Hunt and a jury of eight women and four men on Thursday.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis