A WOMAN has appeared in court charged with the murder of her daughter in Cork city 19 months ago.
Mary Prendergast (48), Glenna Cottages, Commons Road, Cork was yesterday charged at Dún Laoghaire District Court with the murder of young mother Jessica Prendergast (21) on July 29th, 2006.
Mary Prendergast has been undergoing psychiatric treatment since the death of her daughter and has been a patient at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum for most of the intervening period.
She was arrested at the Dublin hospital yesterday morning shortly after 10am. She was taken to Dún Laoghaire Garda station and given a copy of the charge sheet. Det Garda James O'Shea of Watercourse Road Garda station, Cork, told the court she made no reply following her arrest and caution.
The defendant's solicitor, Diarmuid Kelleher, applied for legal aid for his client, saying Ms Prendergast was receiving invalidity pension of € 191 per week and therefore did not have sufficient means.
Judge Clare Leonard granted the request and Ms Prendergast was remanded in custody to the Dóchas centre for women at Mountjoy Jail. She was expected to be transferred back to the Central Mental Hospital after yesterday's brief court appearance following the committal to Mountjoy and is due to appear before Dún Laoghaire District court again next Wednesday.
Jessica Prendergast, originally from Thorndale, Dublin Hill, on Cork's northside, died from multiple stab wounds to the upper body. Her body was found at a house in Cork city in the early evening of Saturday, July 29th, 2006. Officers had to break down the door to gain entry and they found Jessica Prendergast lying face down on the hall floor. Ms Prendergast was the mother of a one-year-old boy, Jason Lee.
Preliminary investigations by gardaí at the time suggested that Ms Prendergast was first attacked by her killer in an upstairs bedroom. They believe she then tried to flee downstairs, only to succumb to her injuries.