Jury retires in baby murder trial

A jury has retired to consider a verdict in the trial of a father accused of the murder of his 20-month-old baby son.

In the Central Criminal Court, Mr Yusif Ali Abdi, (aged 30), a refugee from Somalia, with an address at The Elms, College Road, Clane, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of the murder of his son, Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali on April 17, 2001 in the apartment at College Road, Clane.

The trial jury retired shortly after 2pm today. It must decide whether Yusif Ali Abdi is guilty of murder or if he was insane at the time he killed his son, which would lead to a verdict of guilty but insane.

Two consultant psychiatrists called by the defence have told the trial they believe Yusif Ali Abdi was schizophrenic at the time of the killing.

But a consultant psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital, Dr Damien Mohan, has disputed their diagnosis and said that in his opinion, Mr Ali Abdi was legally sane.