Murder accused 'suffering from paranoid schizophrenia' when he stabbed woman to death

The accused was convinced that a woman he was having an affair with was an undercover intelligence agent sent to poison him

Dr Ronan Mullaney of the Central Mental Hospital said Valerijs Leitons was suffering from an acute psychotic disorder at the time of the offence and qualified for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. File photo: Frank Miller

A man who became convinced that a woman he was having an affair with was an undercover intelligence agent sent to poison him was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when he stabbed her to death, a psychiatrist told his murder trial today.

Dr Ronan Mullaney of the Central Mental Hospital said Valerijs Leitons was suffering from an acute psychotic disorder at the time of the offence and qualified for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. The consultant forensic psychiatrist disagreed with his colleague Dr Damian Smith who last week told the trial that the accused was suffering with a mental disorder but was not impaired enough to meet the criteria for a "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict.