Deceased had nearly 30 injuries, court hears

A 32-year-old man with schizophrenia has gone on trial charged with murdering his mother at their Co Kilkenny home last year.

Niall Stapleton, of Glebe Lodge, Kilfane, Thomastown has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Siobhan Stapleton, aged 51, at that address on May 25, 2012. She died of blunt force trauma to the head after being beaten with the handle of a garden fork.

The Central Criminal Court heard the accused initially told gardaí he saw a man leaving the scene, but later admitted he must have snapped and attacked his mother, causing her death.