Mother in court accused of murdering toddler

A Dublin woman accused of the murder of her two-year-old son wept as a judge was told the Garda investigation file is nearing completion.

Hazel Waters, aged 46, of Ridge Hall, Ballybrack, was charged after toddler Muhammad Hassan Khan was found dead with stab wounds in the bedroom at their apartment at about 2pm on October 16.

She is accused of murdering her son sometime between October 15 and 16.

Garda Sergeant Thomas Doran told Judge Michael Walsh at Dublin District Court he was seeking a further four-week remand. “The file is at an advanced stage and should be sent to the DPP in the next week,” he said.

Padraig O’Donovan, defending, said progress needed to be made.

Ms Waters, who did not address the court, wept throughout the proceedings, drying her eyes with a handkerchief.

Judge Walsh remanded her in custody to appear again on January 14. DPP directions are required and a book of evidence has yet to be prepared. Ms Waters has not yet entered a plea to the charge.

Hassan’s acupuncturist father Mohammed Saleem Khan, 61, laid their son to rest on October 20.

At an earlier stage in the proceedings, the court had heard Ms Waters made no reply when she was charged with murdering her son.

Due to the nature of the charge, a bail application can only be made in the High Court and Ms Waters was remanded in custody to the Dóchas Centre, the women’s unit in Mountjoy Prison.

At her first hearing on October 18, the court had heard her only income was a lone-parent allowance, and she had been granted free legal aid.

Four days later, during her second hearing, Dublin District Court heard Ms Waters had been transferred to the Central Mental Hospital.

She was unable to attend another hearing, on November 5, but since then has been in court to face the proceedings.