The trial of a Kilkenny man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend has heard he believed she was part of a conspiracy against him.
Shane Smyth of McGuinness House, Evans Lane has pleaded NOT guilty to the murder of 26-year-old Mairead Moran by reason of insanity.
Our Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney reports:
On the evening of May 8th 2014, a man could be heard screaming at Mairead Moran outside Holland & Barrett at Market Cross Shopping Centre where she worked. The jurors heard he was demanding to know why she wanted his blood.
He later returned with a knife and repeatedly stabbed her before running off after being disarmed by a security guard who said he showed no emotion when he was confronted.
Several people ran to her side. A Supervalu butcher said there was blood everywhere and one shopper said was gasping for breath while she put pressure on her wounds.
Shane Smyth was arrested and admitted to the Central Mental Hospital where he was treated for paranoid schizophrenia for the first time since he was diagnosed eight years beforehand.
The court heard he believed he was the victim of a conspiracy and that his ex-girlfriend was a part of it. He’s pleaded NOT guilty to murder by reason of insanity.
