Trial of husband accused of murdering Leap woman collapses again

BY ALISON O’RIORDAN

THE trial of a man who admits killing his wife but denies murder has collapsed after a key witness was unavailable to give evidence.

James Kilroy (50) had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering occupational therapist Valerie French Kilroy (41), originally from Leap, at their rural home at Kilbree Lower, Westport, Co Mayo, between June 13th, 2019 and June 14th, 2019.

On Monday the trial collapsed for a second time at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

A key defence witness, who was in the process of giving his testimony, was unavailable to continue giving evidence. Mr Justice Paul McDermott told the jury of five men and seven women that psychiatrist Professor Keith Rix, who was called by the defence and had given evidence before his testimony was ‘suddenly interrupted’ last Friday, is now unavailable and will not be available into the immediate future.

Mr Justice McDermott said the evidence given by Professor Rix was important but now cannot be completed.

The trial had been sitting since November 8th and had heard nearly two weeks of evidence since opening at the Criminal Courts of Justice. Mr Justice McDermott said ‘unfortunately’ the trial could not continue and he would have to discharge the jury.

The judge remanded Mr Kilroy in custody and listed his case in the next list to fix dates on November 28th.

The jury had heard that Mrs French Kilroy died from strangulation as well as blunt force trauma to the head and a stab wound to the neck. Patrick Gageby SC, defending Mr Kilroy, had made a number of formal admissions to the court on behalf of his client in both trials, including that he killed his wife Valerie.

The jury had heard that the defendant told a consultant psychiatrist who assessed him prior to his wife’s body being found that he ‘was on a mission from God’ and had no choice.

Mr Kilroy’s first trial collapsed before the Central Criminal Court in March 2023, when trial judge Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring told the jurors that the parties had reached ‘a complex matter unexpectedly’ in the trial which needed to be dealt with.