Mayo man found guilty of murdering his wife in Westport

A WESTPORT man has been found guilty of murdering his wife at their home outside the west Mayo town in 2019.

James Kilroy (51) of Kilbree Lower, Westport was found guilty by a jury in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin of the murder of his wife, Valerie French Kilroy, at their home on a date unknown between June 13, 2019 and June 14, 2019, both dates inclusive.

He had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the charge with his defence claiming he was suffering from cannabis-induced psychosis or a form of acute, transient psychotic disorder, when he beat, stabbed and strangled his wife. This was the third trial Mr Kilroy had faced as two previous trials collapsed.

During the trial the jury heard Ms French Kilroy had a violent death having suffered blunt force trauma, strangulation and a stab wound in the rural bungalow she shared with the accused on a road between Castlebar and Westport.

Ms French Kilroy was an occupational therapist with Mayo Mental Health Services and had been described as an immensely popular woman particularly in the healthcare community, with a wide circle of friends.

Valerie French Kilroy was murdered by her husband

The jury heard she had been out with friends on the night of June 13, 2019 and at some point after she returned, Mr Kilroy set upon her with a knife before beating her and then he strangled her. Her body was found on the afternoon of June 14 in a campervan on the property.

Mr Kilroy had been found earlier that morning wandering naked in a nearby field. He later told gardaí and psychiatrists of various delusional beliefs, including a belief that his wife was working with Donald Trump’s bodyguards to capture, torture and kill him.

There was disagreement among two psychiatrists who assessed Mr Kilroy on where he met the criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Professor Harry Kennedy said Kilroy was most likely suffering from cannabis intoxication or withdrawal at the time and intoxication was not a defence to a murder charge. Dr Ronan Mullaney, who was called by the defence, said Kilroy did meet the criteria as he was suffering from drug-induced psychosis.

Following a two week trial, the jury took around two hours to find Mr Kilroy guilty of murder and he will be sentenced to the mandatory sentence of life in prison on Monday.