Cobh tragedy: Garda plans to interview daughter put on hold

Garda plans to interview the injured daughter of a couple who died in an apparent murder-suicide have been put on hold to allow her time to recover.

Michelle Greaney, 21, was stabbed a number of times during an incident, at her family home in Cobh, which resulted in the deaths of her parents, Michael, 53, and Valerie, 49, last Sunday.

Michelle, whose condition is understood to be improving, is expected to be a key witness in helping gardaí piece together the events that led up to the tragic deaths of her parents.

Superintendent John Quilter, who is overseeing the investigation, said they would be “waiting a while” before they interview Michelle, who recently graduated from University College Cork.

Postmortems have been completed on the bodies of her parents, but Superintendent Quilter said they would not be releasing the results “for operational reasons”.

Michelle’s younger sister Sarah, 16, is being cared for by relatives.

Neighbours of the Greaneys at Philip O’Neill Place in Cobh helped raise the alarm last Sunday afternoon when Sarah arrived at their door seeking assistance.

Gardaí arrived to find both Michael and Valerie fatally wounded and Michelle bleeding profusely after being stabbed.

Michael Greaney had been prevented for several months from living at the family home, as a condition of his release from the Central Mental Hospital, where he had been assessed earlier this year.

That assessment came after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in February in relation to charges of false imprisonment and assault causing harm in an incident in May 2013. At the end of October last, Cork Circuit Criminal Court was told his family wished to have him back home. An application to allow him do so was granted.

A psychiatrist’s report said it would be safe to allow him back to the family home, subject to his being on whatever medication and receiving any psychiatric attention he needed.

The trial in February had heard Mr Greaney was extremely worried about the family’s financial situation. He put a rag to the victim’s mouth, but a psychiatric consultant, on behalf of the prosecution, said Mr Greaney did not know at the time it was wrong, and he was unable to stop it.

After that 2013 incident, he injured himself and might have died if gardaí had not arrived.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has been in contact with Cobh Community College, where Sarah is a student.

“Support and advice is being provided to that school community, including the presence of NEPS psychologists on site for the school re-opening next week,” a department spokesperson said.

NEPS advises staff on how to best support students at the time of critical incidents involving members of the school community. Its psychologists do not provide counselling to individual children in schools, but they collaborate with HSE service providers if additional supports are needed.

In as statement last night, the HSE said: “In line with HSE standard practice for any serious incidents relating to service users, an internal review is being carried out by the HSE into the circumstances of the tragic incident that occurred.

“As is required in such cases, the Mental Health Commission has been informed.”