Mother suffered years of abuse before her alleged murder in Killarney, court told

Eoin Reynolds

A man told gardaí, "I didn't kill the b***h", when they put an allegation to him that he had killed his 75-year-old mother, a Central Criminal Court jury heard this afternoon.

The jury also heard that the accused man, Billy Burns (55), broke his mother Miriam Burns's jaw in 1993 and often verbally abused her over the years.

Sharon Kelleher, the accused's eldest sibling, told the trial that their mother knew from experience that Billy could be dangerous, but she always tried to help him. Ms Kelleher said her mother "got the brunt of it" when the accused, who has mental health issues, was coming down off drugs.

"She never did anything to bring that on," Ms Kelleher said. "All she did was try to help."

Ms Kelleher said it never in her "wildest dreams" occurred to her that Billy could cause their mother's death.

Mr Burns of Arlington Lodge, Tralee, is charged with murdering Miriam Burns (75), on a date unknown between August 12th and 15th, 2022, both dates inclusive, at the deceased's home in Ardshanavooley, Killarney. Mr Burns has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

The jury has heard that Mr Burns accepts that he killed his mother. Prosecution counsel Sean Guerin SC said in his opening speech that psychiatrists for the State and for the defence also agree that the accused was undergoing a manic episode related to bipolar disorder when he killed his mother.

However, the State maintains that Mr Burns understood what he was doing and bears responsibility for his mother's murder. A psychiatrist to be called by the defence will say the accused did not understand the nature and quality of his actions.

Shane Burns, on Thursday, told Mr Guerin that he is the accused man's younger brother by five years. As a child, he lived in fear of Billy, who he said was "always angry".

His anger was mainly towards their mother, who raised her four children alone, but if anyone else tried to interfere, they would "get it" from Billy, he said. He recalled Billy scalding their older sister Sharon with an iron because she told Billy to "calm down" during an argument with their mother.

As he got older, Billy became more aggressive, the witness said, and he would often steal money or cigarettes from their mother's purse. Although Shane said he never saw Billy strike their mother, he did see him push or restrain her. At times, he saw that his mother was bruised, but she would say she had fallen.

Billy would call their mother derogatory terms to her face and spread stories about her, Shane said. When Shane heard that Billy had broken their mother's jaw in 1993, Shane encouraged her to make a formal complaint, but she refused.

In the months before her death, Ms Burns was worried about Billy because he had been missing for some time, and she didn't know where he was living, the witness said.

Day the body was found

On August 15th, 2022, Mr Burns said he and Sharon became concerned that they hadn't heard from their mother over the weekend. They called neighbours who used a spare key to enter the house and found Ms Burns dead in the sitting room.

Ms Kelleher told Mr Guerin that she had a "beautiful childhood until Billy was about 15 and started taking drugs".

She said her brother could be erratic due to his mental health issues and drug use, and would be verbally abusive towards their mother. She recalled him saying he would put their mother "in the ground" and then telling her he loved her.

On August 12th, 2022, Ms Burns texted her daughter to say that Billy had called to the house and was "in a bad way". Ms Kelleher rang her mother, who described Billy as unrecognisable and 'psychotic'. She was upset and worried about Billy, Ms Kelleher said.

Ms Kelleher advised her mother to lock the doors, to speak to gardaí and not to let Billy back in. When she didn't hear from her mother again over the next two days, she presumed everything was fine. Billy's usual pattern would be that once he had been "fed and watered" and got some money, he would go away, Ms Kelleher said.

Accused's arrest

Inspector John Kelly of the Kerry Garda Division told Sean Guerin SC that gardaí arrested Billy Burns on August 16th, 2022 and interviewed him at Killarney Garda Station.

Mr Burns confirmed to gardaí that he had been in his mother's house on the Friday night before she died. He said he arrived in the late evening, and she made him a sandwich and told him he could stay the night.

She went to bed shortly after he arrived, he said, while he smoked "a few joints" downstairs. Mr Burns told gardaí that he had sourced drugs, including crack cocaine, in Dublin before coming to Killarney. He had another source for drugs in Killarney, he said.

The following morning, Mr Burns told detectives he had a cup of tea, went to his mother's bedroom to give her a kiss and a hug and left between 10 and 11am. Inspector Kelly said gardaí were unable to find evidence that Mr Burns had left his mother's house that morning, and neighbours said they saw him in the house up to the mid-afternoon.

CCTV did show Mr Burns cycling away from his mother's home at 7.28pm that evening with a rucksack on his back towards Ross Castle.

Garda findings

Garda forensic teams found the remnants of four fires in the Ross Castle area that had been started by Mr Burns, Inspector Kelly said. Among the ashes of one fire, they found a small piece of fabric that matched the bloodstained night slip that Ms Burns had been wearing when she died.

At a nearby house, gardaí discovered the rucksack and a bag that Mr Burns identified as his own. In the rucksack was a cushion with blood staining that matched Ms Burns's DNA, the inspector said.

Mr Burns also confirmed to gardaí that in 1993, he had broken his mother's jaw, saying variously that he closed a door on her or that he punched her. He said she needed a wire in her jaw, and he felt bad.

When asked about allegations that he had killed his mother, he replied: "I didn't kill the b***h."

He told gardaí that when he first called to his mother's home on August 12th, he argued with her about money. When gardaí asked if a neighbour was correct in saying he saw Mr Burns slamming the door as he left and verbally abusing his mother as he left, the accused said: "Probably yeah."

Throughout his interviews on August 16th and following his rearrest in February 2023, Inspector Kelly said the accused man denied any involvement in his mother's killing and maintained that he was not the person responsible.

The trial continues before a jury of eight men and four women.