A PARK RANGER was likely suffering from an acute and transient psychotic disorder when he strangled, beat and stabbed his wife to death, a murder trial has heard.

Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Lisa Wootton was called by the defence in the trial of James Kilroy, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering his wife Valerie French Kilroy.

Dr Wootton today told defence counsel Patrick Gageby SC that she accepts that Mr Kilroy could have been suffering from cannabis-induced psychosis but she prefers a diagnosis of acute and transient psychosis. She said the symptoms associated with that disorder better reflected the evidence regarding Mr Kilroy’s fluctuating mental state.

Dr Wootton said Mr Kilroy had given various accounts of his disordered thinking at the time of the killing, including that he believed his wife was working with Donald Trump’s bodyguards in a plot to have him captured, tortured and killed. 

He also said that he was on a mission from god while on other occasions said that he thought he was a superhero or a super villain or that he was fighting zombies when he killed his wife.

Dr Wootton said any of these delusions would have caused him to not understand that what he was doing was wrong and to be unable to refrain from killing his wife.

She said there was evidence that his symptoms began to develop about nine days prior to the killing, when he attended an anti-Trump protest.

By the time of the killing he was “floridly psychotic” and remained unwell for some weeks afterwards.

Dr Wootton disagreed with Professor Harry Kennedy, a consultant psychiatrist called by the prosecution, who said that Mr Kilroy was suffering the effects of cannabis intoxication.

Dr Wootton said the symptoms were not in keeping with cannabis intoxication and the evidence indicated he had not used cannabis for several days by the time of the killing.

Mr Kilroy (51) has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering his wife at their home in Kilbree Lower, Westport, Co Mayo, between 13 and 14 June, 2019.