A Mayo woman, who pushed her two children into the sea at Westport while they were strapped in a twin buggy, has been found guilty of the murder and attempted murder of the children, but insane.
The mother-of-five jumped into the sea after her children because, she said, she wanted them all to go to heaven. Her three-year-old daughter survived but her son, aged 11 months, died six months later in hospital.
Mary Collins (31), Parnell Court, Westport, was suffering from a form of schizophrenia at the time and had pleaded not guilty to the murder of baby Liam and the attempted murder of her daughter.
The incident happened on July 29th, 2002, at the quay in Westport and all three were taken from the water by members of a women's football team after they were alerted by the three-year-old's screams.
Liam was submerged in the water and suffered brain damage as a result of the near drowning. He developed pneumonia and died on January 16th, 2003.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin took less than a minute to return a verdict of guilty but insane after hearing medical witnesses called by both sides, who agreed Mary Collins had been suffering from "schizophrenic affective disorder" which meant she was delusional at the time.
She had been suffering hallucinations and hearing voices from deceased family members who told her she would be happier in heaven.
Mary Collins initially told gardaí the incident was an accident and that the wheel had come off the back of the buggy, which fell into the water. She said she had jumped in to try to rescue her children, even though she could not swim. However, she later admitted that she had pushed the buggy into the water.
Before the incident, she said, she combed her own hair and her daughter's hair and did not want to leave them behind. She said she was afraid of her husband and wanted to drown with her children in order to go to heaven. She said she had put on the children's best clothes and best shoes before the incident.
Mary Collins was found face down in the water and had been trying to drown herself.
She lost consciousness and was resuscitated but her son initially showed no signs of life, had no heart beat and was in a comatose and hypothermic state. He was taken by ambulance to Mayo General Hospital where his heartbeat and circulation were successfully restored, but he had suffered brain damage and remained unconscious until he died.
State pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy found he had died as a result of pneumonia and brain damage.
Mr Justice Paul Carney told the jury members the verdict they returned was equivalent to an acquittal and that the woman would now be held at the Central Mental Hospital, where her case would be reviewed periodically by a committee comprising a psychiatrist, a doctor and a civil servant.
The judge took the opportunity to criticise the law regarding mental health, which dated back to the 19th century.