A woman accused of murdering her husband by stabbing him more than 60 times was not insane at the time of the killing, the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Yesterday, the defence called a psychiatrist to give evidence at the trial of Tanya Doyle, who admits killing Paul Byrne but denies murdering him.
Ms Doyle (40) of Pairc Gleann Trasna, Aylesbury, Tallaght, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Byrne (48) at that address on September 4th, 2009.
Defending, Brendan Grehan SC told the jury at the start of the trial that it was admitted his client alone killed Mr Byrne and the issue in the trial would be Ms Doyle’s mental state at the time she carried out the stabbing.
Dr Paul O’Connell, a consultant psychiatrist from the Central Mental Hospital, told the jury he was asked for an expert opinion on Ms Doyle and read medical reports.
He said his initial opinion was that the accused suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was insane at the time she killed her husband. But he revised that opinion because he said it was clear Ms Doyle knew what she was doing at the time of the killing and knew that it was wrong.
However, the psychiatrist said Ms Doyle suffers from schizo-affective disorder and her responsibility would be diminished at the time of the killing.The trial continues.