Christina Anderson stabbed a man she did not know to death because she was suffering a relapse of bipolar affective disorder and falsely believed that the victim was a danger to her and her family, a psychiatrist has told the Central Criminal Court.
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Brenda Wright told Ms Anderson's murder trial that the accused believed that she was morally justified in killing Gareth Kelly to protect her family and that she was unable to refrain from acting as she did against what she believed was an "immediate danger".
Dr Wright also found that Ms Anderson's capacity to form intent was impaired at the time of the stabbing. She said she considered whether the accused's use of cannabis and increased alcohol consumption in the days leading up to the stabbing impacted her capacity.
Cannabis
Ms Anderson had been smoking cannabis daily and Dr Wright noted that this was her habit from approximately 2010 and predated the deterioration in her mental health from 2017 onwards. Dr Wright said: "It is my view that it was her mental disorder that impaired her capacity to form intent rather than intoxicant use."
Defence counsel Michael O'Higgins SC has previously told the jury that an issue in the trial will be whether Ms Anderson's actions on the day were driven by her mental disorder or cannabis intoxication. Dr Wright was called to give evidence by the defence.
Mother-of-three Christina Anderson (41) of Brownsbarn Wood, Kingswood, Dublin 22, is charged with murdering Gareth Kelly (39), who was stabbed five times as he tried to start his car outside Ms Anderson's home on the morning of February 25th, 2020.
She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Opening the trial last week, counsel for the State Patrick McGrath SC said Mr Kelly had parked in a space belonging to the Anderson household and that this happened from time to time "to the annoyance of Ms Anderson".
Dr Wright told Mr O'Higgins that Ms Anderson was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 2004 when she was aged 22. She was experiencing depressive symptoms brought on by stress at work and relationship difficulties. She was using cannabis weekly and occasionally other drugs including cocaine and ecstasy.
Birth
Following the birth of her third child in 2017 Ms Anderson showed "extremely depressive symptoms" and in 2018 she described being elated and impulsive and spoke about having an "alter ego" named Nicky.
Later in 2018 her mood was described as low and towards the end of that year she suffered from disrupted sleep and had thoughts of self harm. She reported increased irritability and abnormal perceptions.
She was diagnosed with schizo affective disorder in December 2018. By the end of 2019 Ms Anderson described having low moods and panic attacks which she attributed to a stressful situation with her neighbours.
Defamation case
The court has heard that she filed a defamation case against one of her neighbours after a comment was made about her on a community WhatsApp group. In the weeks leading up to the stabbing she sent multiple texts and emails to friends, family members and her solicitor falsely alleging that her neighbours were involved in a criminal conspiracy.
Dr Wright said in the week leading up to the stabbing, Ms Anderson's mood was elevated, her sleep was disrupted and she continued to use cannabis daily. Her alcohol consumption increased from nine units per week to 4.5 units per day.
She warned her family and friends that she and her family were "in danger" and when interviewed later by medical professionals reported an increase in the intensity and frequency of auditory hallucinations. She had a "persecutory delusion" that she and her family were going to die and she slept with a knife under her pillow.
In the days before the alleged offence she believed there was a sniper in her attic and her husband described her as "hysterical". She had grandiose delusions such as that she was a goddess, that Michael Jackson was going to visit her home or that she was a character from Star Trek.
Dr Wright said it is her view that Ms Anderson has bipolar affective disorder, which the witness said is a recognised mental disorder under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act.
Dr Wright added that Ms Anderson did understand the nature and quality of her actions and she understood that what she did in stabbing Mr Kelly was legally wrong.
However, she "harboured a psychotic moral justification for her actions - she delusionally believed her life and the lives of her family were in danger and that in killing Mr Kelly she was protecting them all."
She described this as a "persecutory delusional belief, a false belief with no rational basis."
When Mr O'Higgins asked if Ms Anderson was able to refrain from the act of stabbing Mr Kelly, Dr Wright said: "Ms Anderson delusionally believed the danger to her family she had been concerned with for days had become an immediate danger rather than a non-specific danger. In that context she was unable to generate an alternative way to behave and so was unable to refrain from acting as she did."
The trial continues on Friday in front of Ms Justice Karen O'Connor and a jury of seven men and five women.
