A woman who stabbed her 76-year-old mother to death in the belief she was the devil just five days after she was released from psychiatric care has been found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.
The 12 jurors accepted the evidence given by two consultant forensic psychiatrists that the accused, Moire Bergin, was suffering from bipolar affective disorder with symptoms of mania, depression and psychosis at the time of the killing and fulfilled the criteria for the special verdict.
The case, Ms Bergin's defence counsel Fiona Murphy SC had told the trial jury, was a "heartbreaking" one, in which the defendant was accused of murdering her elderly mother, "the one person to whom she felt closest with, and who supported her tirelessly through her life".
Moire Bergin (47), with an address at Seville Place, Dublin 1, had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of her mother Mary Bergin in her home at First Avenue, Seville Place, Dublin 1 on April 13th, 2022.
The trial at the Central Criminal Court heard that Ms Bergin had struggled with her mental health since 2005 and was detained 16 times under the Mental Health Act prior to the killing.
Symptoms of Ms Bergin's mental illness included religious delusions and exposing herself, which one psychiatrist said was a clear indicator that she was not well.
Admissions
The defendant's mental health deteriorated significantly in the year leading up to the fatal stabbing, with more frequent admissions to hospital.
Ms Bergin had six psychiatric admissions to hospital between March 6th, 2021, and April 8th, 2022, and was last released from hospital five days before killing her mother.
The two psychiatrists called as expert witnesses were both in agreement that the defendant met the three criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006 in that she did not know the nature and quality of the act, was unable to appreciate that what she did at the time was morally wrong and would have been unable to refrain from her actions.
The one-day trial, which Mr Justice Paul McDermott called "stark and deeply tragic", heard a bloodstained Ms Bergin was found naked on a Dublin street after fatally stabbing her mother in the head and neck.
She told a garda at the scene: "I killed my mother, I killed her. She is inside covered in blood."
A 999 call had been made by the deceased hours before she was killed, seeking an ambulance for her daughter, who was naked in the back garden at the time.
State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers, who carried out a post-mortem examination on Mary Bergin, found stab wounds to the victim's neck and forehead, as well as defensive injuries to the back of the forearms.
She had experienced significant blood loss which had caused organ failure and death, the trial heard.
Unanimous
During interviews at Store Street Garda station, the defendant talked "about the devil being the ruination of souls" and having seen the devil in her mother's eyes.
The jury of six men and six women spent one hour and seven minutes deliberating on Wednesday before bringing in a unanimous verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
After they had delivered their verdict, Mr Justice McDermott thanked the jury for their service, saying: "When people come into the courtroom, they don't know what to expect and what the nature of the case can be.
"It is always difficult for everyone involved, more for you as you don't know what to expect. Thank you sincerely for your participation in the process."
The judge exempted them from jury service for the next five years.
Prosecution counsel James Dwyer SC made an application to the court asking the judge to commit Ms Bergin to the designated centre for inpatient care for not more than 14 days.
Mr Justice McDermott then made an order committing Ms Bergin to the Central Mental Hospital on Wednesday, with her return before the court scheduled for July 16th.
The judge also directed the preparation of a psychiatric assessment by an approved medical officer.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Paul O'Connell, for the prosecution, had testified that Ms Bergin had an established history of a mental disorder, namely bipolar affective disorder, and her other diagnoses in the past had included schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder.
He said she had experienced persistent psychosis before and after the offence and had been suffering from a mental disorder in April 2022.
The witness said whilst Ms Bergin knew the nature and quality of the act, she did not know she was killing her mother. She believed she was killing "the anti-christ Satan" and that the act was necessary to benefit the world.
The psychiatrist said she did not know what she was doing was wrong as she was psychotic at the time and not able to consider the consequences of her actions.
Finally, he said she was unable to refrain from doing the act and therefore met the three limbs for the defence of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Psychotic symptoms
Psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks, called by the defence, said the defendant was suffering from bipolar Type 1 disorder, which he said was a mental illness.
He said this included episodic mood disorders and could be accompanied by psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.
Dr Monks said the stability of Ms Bergin's mental health deteriorated significantly in the year leading up to the offence with more frequent admissions to hospital.
He said clinical records documented that she had six psychiatric admissions to hospital between March 6th, 2021, and April 8th, 2022.
The witness said she had masked her symptoms of mental illness from the mental health team to get discharged from hospital on April 8th, 2022, when she was only in partial remission from her illness.
The psychiatrist said Ms Bergin's mental state rapidly deteriorated in the ensuing days, and she experienced prominent depressive symptoms. He said she was in a catatonic state on April 13th, 2022, and became preoccupied with religious delusions, believing she was controlled by the devil and her mother was replaced by the devil.
He said she was acutely unwell in April 2022.
He said the defendant did not know the nature and quality of killing her mother as she was labouring under the delusional belief that her mother was replaced by the devil, adding she felt justified as she thought she was extinguishing evil.
Dr Monks said she could not resist acting as she did as she saw no other option and that the special verdict was available to her, adding Ms Bergin met all three criteria to qualify for the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Under cross-examination, he told James Dwyer SC, prosecuting, that he agreed with Dr O'Connell's diagnosis and was aware Ms Bergin is in the Central Mental Hospital and is subject to review by the review board there.
He said she continues to suffer from a chronic mental disorder which requires treatment and care.
By Alison O’Riordan
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