Woman told her sister before she was killed she would have to let her murder accused son 'go'

Alison O’Riordan

A woman told her sister three weeks before she was killed that she would have to let her murder accused son "go", but the deceased "didn't want to hear it", a jury has heard.

Helen O'Leary called her 75-year-old sister Miriam Burns, who died from her injuries inflicted by her son Billy Burns at her home in Killarney three years ago, "a saint with what Billy put her through for years".

Two consultant psychiatrists have differed on whether the accused, who was suffering from a manic episode related to bipolar disorder when he killed his mother, qualifies for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Eugene Morgan, a consultant psychiatrist at Cork Prison who was called by the defence, has told the trial that the accused meets the criteria for the special verdict.

Dr Stephen Monks, a consultant psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital, said that despite Mr Burns's mental illness, he understood the nature and quality of his actions when killing his mother.

Mr Burns accepts killing but denies murdering his mother Miriam Burns (75) at her home in Ardshanavooley, Killarney, Co Kerry, between August 12th and August 15th 2022.

State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster has given evidence that Ms Burns had injuries to her face, neck, back and legs that were consistent with multiple blows, manual strangulation and possible suffocation.

Mr Burns has pleaded not guilty to his mother's murder by reason of insanity.

Sean Guerin SC alongside Ronan Prendergast BL, prosecuting, on Tuesday read the statement of Ms Burns' sister, Helen O'Leary, who said she was speaking to Miriam on the phone three weeks prior to her death. Ms O'Leary said the pair "had words over" Billy and Miriam informed her that she hadn't seen her son in over ten months.

Ms O'Leary told her sister she would have to let Billy go, but said that Miriam didn't want to hear this. Ms O'Leary said when Billy was living with her sister, he shouted around the house and talked to himself on many occasions.

In her statement, Ms O'Leary said Billy had a lot of issues and had been affected by his father leaving when he was very young and was also addicted to drugs.

Ms O'Leary recalled an incident in either 2020 or 2021 when Miriam had rang her extremely upset to say Billy had "gone out the door". Her sister told her that Billy had been "the worst ever that night" and was psychotic.

Ms O'Leary said another night, when she and her sister were on the phone, she could hear Billy talking and shouting to himself and said that Miriam was "petrified".

Ms O'Leary called her sister "a saint, with what Billy put her through for years". Ms O'Leary said Billy had called her "a fu**ing bitch" when she had called to the house and that his siblings were very afraid of him.

Sergeant Michael Quirke agreed with Mr Guerin that he had made a journey with the accused in an unmarked patrol car after noon on August 17th, 2022, when he was in custody.

The Sergeant said this had arisen after Mr Burns was asked in his garda interviews where he had been the previous day. The witness said they had driven to an area where the defendant's rucksack and another small backpack had been hidden.

Sgt Quirke said they went to another location close to Ross Castle so that the accused could point out where he had spent the previous few nights. He said Mr Burns had also pointed out the remnants of two fires in the location.

The prosecution has now closed its case and the trial will continue tomorrow before Ms Justice Karen O'Connor and a jury of eight men and four women.