Jury rejects James Kilroy's insanity claim to find him guilty of murdering his wife

James Kilroy will be sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment next Monday

Kilroy murdered his wife at their home in Kilbree Lower, Westport, Co Mayo, between June 13 and June 14, 2019.

A jury has unanimously convicted Valerie French Kilroy's husband of her murder, rejecting his claim that he was insane when he beat, stabbed and strangled her to death, in what was his third trial since 2021.

During James Kilroy's latest trial, psychiatrists had disagreed as to whether cannabis-induced psychosis is a mental disorder that can be used as a defence under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act, despite recent murder trials in which such a defence was successfully employed.