The brother of murder victim Valerie French Kilroy has taken a damages action against her killer husband arising from her death.
David French, the legal personal representative of his sister’s estate, has taken the High Court personal injuries proceedings against James Kilroy, who was jailed for life last year after being convicted of the murder of Ms French Kilroy.
The trial at the Central Criminal Court heard Ms French Kilroy (41), an occupational therapist with Mayo Mental Health Services, died after she was stabbed, beaten and strangled by her husband after she came home on the night of June 13th, 2019, after visiting friends.
Kilroy (52) was found on the morning of June 14th, wandering naked in a nearby field. His wife’s body was found that afternoon in a camper van beside their home about 6km outside Westport.
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Kilroy had denied murder and said he was insane and suffering from cannabis induced psychosis or a form of acute and transient psychotic disorder. He told gardaí and psychiatrists of various delusional beliefs, including that his wife was working with Donald Trump’s bodyguards to capture, torture and kill him.
In a victim impact statement, David French, speaking on his own behalf and for his three sisters, said the impact of Ms French Kilroy’s death was beyond words and consumed and haunted her family. Their mother died soon afterwards, she was under enormous stress and the murder was a “death sentence” for her, he said.
His sister’s murder was “violent and prolonged”, and she died in terror for her own life and the lives of her children, he said. Her innocent children had been robbed of an extremely capable, talented and loving mother who gave everything she could to them when she was alive and ended up giving her life for them.
Kilroy has appealed his murder conviction and a hearing date for the appeal has yet to be fixed.
Mr French’s lawyers served a notice on November 3rd last of intention to proceed with the personal injuries case. However, because solicitors have yet to come on record for Kilroy in the High Court case, the necessary legal documents could not be served.
In those circumstances, lawyers for Mr French this week secured liberty from the High Court to serve the legal documents on Kilroy in Castlerea Prison.
