A mother who claimed she was "out of her mind" when she tried to murder her eight-year-old daughter by strangling her with a phone cable and stabbing her more than 70 times has been jailed for nine years.
Sentencing the defendant at the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Judge Kerida Naidoo said the woman's mental health had significantly contributed to her wrongdoing.
He also said the child's victim impact statement had made it clear how physically agonising the "sustained attack" had been. He said the child's scars were healing but they were still a permanent reminder to her of what had occurred that day.
As Judge Naidoo recalled on Monday how the child had described the "tormenting" pain of the knife going "in and out" of her, the defendant could be heard wailing from the dock.
The judge said the mother had the intention to kill her child at the time, despite the victim begging for her life and "for the attack to stop".
He said the woman had an irrational belief that her daughter would be taken from her. There was no doubt, the judge said, that prior to the mental deterioration of the woman's health, she had a good relationship with her daughter and was a good parent.
Victim impact statement
In her victim impact statement delivered in April by a garda, the young girl, who is now in foster care, had described the moment her mother locked their bedroom door before pushing a kitchen knife through her chest.
In her statement, the girl said that she no longer loves the defendant but doesn't hate her either and instead has no feelings towards her. "I hope you have a nice time in prison," she told her mother.
The court heard that neighbours made a frantic effort during the attack to reach the girl, who was heard telling her mother: "Mum don't do this, I will die".
Last January, a jury unanimously found the girl's mother, a 49-year-old Russian national, guilty of the attempted murder of her then eight-year-old daughter.
In specialist interviews with investigating gardaí, the girl described how her mother held a knife over her and told her: "I'm going to kill you and after will kill myself, as that will be best."
She said her mother also told her: "This is what needs to happen, it's for the best."
The girl sustained more than 70 stab wounds during the attack by her mother, who also attempted to strangle her.
The defendant, who cannot be named to protect her daughter’s right to anonymity, had denied the charge before the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick.
On January 23rd last, the trial jury unanimously agreed that the mother was guilty of the girl’s attempted murder.
The trial heard the defendant had told gardaí following her arrest that she was “out of my mind” when she attacked her daughter.
Lorcan Connolly, prosecuting, previously told Judge Naidoo that the case was opened on the basis that the woman had attempted to murder her then eight-year-old daughter on September 27th, 2022 "with the application of a knife and a cable ligature, causing life changing injuries".
In delivering sentence on Monday, Judge Naidoo said the jury's verdict meant that the defendant had done the relevant acts with the intent to kill her daughter.
The judge said two consultant doctors found that a wound to the child's pericardial sac would have been fatal if not treated.
Judge Naidoo said the court must establish how the defendant's culpability was diminished by her mental health issues.
He noted that the fact the defendant was the child's mother added to the impact of the offending.
"Against that, the large number of less serious wounds points to hesitation on the part of the defendant to inflict serious injuries".
The judge said the overall evidence was the absence of premeditation and that there was no evidence of a motive unrelated to the defendant's mental state.
Judge Naidoo set the headline sentence at 18 years and six months without regard to the woman's mental condition.
He said the jury had rejected the insanity defence, but found that on the evidence her mental state was an important factor in the sentencing process.
The judge said the defendant had four admissions to hospital between 2009 and 2017, where she received a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder. He said the woman maintained her mental health issues began to re-emerge in September 2022 and had worsened around this time.
He said health professionals involved with the defendant had gone out of their way to help her and that they all did much more than could reasonably have been expected of them in these circumstances.
The judge said the marginally conscious defendant was found by gardaí slumped on the ground with blood on her clothing and was later treated for "a mixed overdose".
He said the woman, who had severe depressive symptoms, had attempted suicide and was not deemed medically fit to be interviewed by gardaí until March 2023.
He said a consultant psychiatrist found the defendant's primary diagnosis to be recurrent depressive disorder and that she had an unstable personality disorder of the impulsive type.
Judge Naidoo said the woman's mental health had significantly contributed to her wrongdoing.
Taking into account the defendant's mental health issues, the judge reduced the headline sentence of 18 years and six months to 12 years imprisonment.
He said the defendant had cooperated during the garda investigation and made admissions, which were of material assistance to the investigation. He also took into account that she had no previous convictions and that prior to the incident, she was a loving parent.
Judge Naidoo imposed a sentence of 12 years imprisonment but suspended the final three years for a period of three years, resulting in a custodial sentence of nine years, backdated to March 2023, when the mother went into custody.
