Court awaits report on man charged with sister's murder
A man charged with murdering his 17-year-old sister in Clare will not go on trial until the psychiatric report is ready, it emerged today.
Patrick O’Dwyer, a 20-year-old apprentice butcher, was charged after the body of his sister, Marguerite, was found in their family home in Shrohill, Ennistymon on November 29, 2004.
At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, Judge Paul Carney said he was aware of the enormous trauma the case had caused in both the country and in Clare, and therefore he had attempted to have it heard several times.
“Every time we assembled in court in Ennis, your side is not prepared to go on with the case,” he told defence counsel Hugh Hartnett.
Mr Hartnett called on Dr Paul O’Connell, a psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin, to give evidence to explain the delay.
Dr O’Connell said he had first met Mr O’Dwyer in December 2004 for the purpose of carrying out a forensic psychiatric examination on Mr O’Dwyer’s mental state. But he said he needed more time to receive the views of a number of additional experts, including one from England.
“In my professional career, it’s one of the most complex clinical cases I’ve had to deal with,” she said.
Dr O’Connell said he had sought the opinion of a consultant neurologist as well as a psychological assessment and brain scans.
“I would hope the additional reports will be included shortly and I’ll be able to reflect on them,” he said.
He added that he hoped to have concluded his final report by the beginning of June.
A post mortem exam by the State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy found that Marguerite O’Dwyer had died as a result of multiple blows to the head and upper body.
Mr Hartnett put it to Dr O’Connell that it would be important for the jury to have a full picture of Mr O’Dwyer’s mental state before the trial went ahead.
“As I’ve explained, I would prefer to offer an opinion with reference to the outstanding investigations,” replied Dr O’Connell.
Mr Hartnett said the family were anxious that their son should be given the appropriate psychiatric care and that all the evidence should be before the jury when the trial took place.
Judge Carney, who has expressed his frustration at the delays in hearing the case, said he would put in the court list for June to fix a date for trial.
