A man convicted of killing his unborn child during a savage attack on his pregnant lover may not have been responsible for his actions, a court heard yesterday.
Colin McDonald (35) could have been in an "automatic state" at the time because he had not taken insulin for his chronic diabetes, his lawyer told the Appeal Court in Belfast.
McDonald, from Quay Street, Bangor, Co Down, was sentenced to 22 years' imprisonment last May after he became the first person in Northern Ireland to be convicted of child destruction.
A jury at Downpatrick Crown Court also found him guilty of rape and attempted murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Michelle Kerr (22). She had been stabbed 47 times with a screw-driver and a kitchen knife and beaten with a staircase spindle.
McDonald's lawyer, Mr Andrew Donaldson, QC, said McDonald was suffering from hypoglycaemia caused by not taking the proper insulin. The effect on his blood supply raised an arguable case of automatism.
Mr Donaldson said a medical report which stated that McDonald's illness "may have predisposed him to mindless and unintentional behaviour" was not revealed at the trial because McDonald sacked his lawyers and did not call any witnesses.
The appeal is expected to finish today.