Man killed mother and buried body in shallow grave

A man has been found guilty of killing his mother before cutting up her body and burying it in a shallow grave.

Dublin woman Philomena Dunleavy disappeared in April last year and, after her body was found, was only identified after police in Edinburgh published a computer-generated facial reconstruction and issued an appeal in Ireland.

Yesterday, a jury in Scotland decided James Dunleavy, 40, had killed his mother but that he had diminished responsibility. He is currently being assessed by psychiatrists and will be sentenced when a report is ready for the trial judge.

His mother had been visiting Dunleavy’s flat in Edinburgh from Dublin when they got into an argument. He beat her with an unknown instrument and choked her before he cut off her legs and head.

He then buried her body in a wooded part of Corstorphine Hill, Edinburgh. She was found by a cyclist more than a month after her death.

Dunleavy had originally said his mother had left for Dublin on May 2 after a row and that he did not know where she was.

However, investigators said Dunleavy, who was working as a railway labourer, had washed and cleaned his apartment and set fire to his mattress in an effort to conceal his crime.

He put his mother’s dismembered body into a suitcase, brought her to Corstorphine Hill, and buried her.

Police honed in on Ireland after examining Ms Dunleavy’s Claddagh ring and suspecting she was Irish.

Dunleavy’s father and younger brother were in court to hear the verdict but did not make any comment afterwards.