Deirdre Morley was found not guilty of murdering her children by reason of insanity. Scroll down to know about her sister and family.
Deirdre Morley is a 44-year-old woman who was charged with the murder of her three children aged 9, 7, and 3 years old.
Ms. Morldey admitted to killing her children by suffocating them using duct tape, plastic bags, and cushions in January 2020.
However, the jury declared her not guilty of the murder of her children by reason of insanity. Ms. Morley is diagnosed with bipolar disorder type two and recurring depressive disorder.
Further, Morley stated she killed her children because she thought she’d damaged them by her mental illness and parenting.
She also attempted to take her life but was not successful.
Mother Deirdre Morley charged with murdering her three children https://t.co/1FipVNzJ4V
— breakingnews.ie (@breakingnewsie) January 29, 2020
Deirdre Morley Sister
Deirdre Morley has at least two sisters. She was the youngest of eight siblings.
However, their names are not yet discovered. Further, Morley lost her father when she was only 20 months old.
She was really close to her mother while growing up and was deeply stressed and troubled after her death in 2015 due to cancer.
This was where her mental health started to deteriorate but she had it under control until she became a mother. Her condition worsened over time that eventually robbed her of the ability to differentiate between right or wrong.
Deirdre Morley Background
Deirdre Morley was a trained nurse and specialized in renal care. She used to work at Crumlin Children’s Hospital.
She was having difficulty at work as she felt burdened with too much responsibility. Her mental health condition further degraded when she took a child’s death in her ward particularly badly.
Deirdre was admitted to St. Patrick’s Hospital as an inpatient for four weeks in July 2019.
After she was discharged, things had improved. However, Ms. Morley and her family said she was behaving ‘too well’.
#WATCH Deirdre Morley has been found NOT guilty by reason of insanity for the murder of her three young children#VMNews Courts Reporter @DebsNaylor has more ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/djT6zrZvKk
— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) May 20, 2021
Her husband and sisters were worried that it was not normal behavior and tried to support her in every way possible. However, Deirdre’s thoughts had taken a dark turn and her mental health condition had spiraled out of control.
She hid her illness from her husband, Andrew McGinley, and sisters, as she did not want to go back to St. Patrick Hospital.
Ms. Morley said she wanted to kill herself and she thought she could not leave her children behind. She had convinced herself that she had damaged her children with her mental illness and parenting.
Furthermore, she killed her son, Darragh McGinley, by suffocating him to death using sticky tape and a plastic bag, in one of the rooms.
Then, she went down to where her daughter, Carla McGinley, who was watching TV and killed her in the same manner. Her eldest son was in school and she fetched him earlier. After they returned to their house, she murdered him as well.
Deirdre Morley Update 2021: Where Is She Now?
Deirdre Morley was diagnosed with severe mental health disorder and met the criteria for a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.
As of June 2021, she has been committed to the Central Mental Hospital.
Ms. Morley’s condition fell within the Mental Health Act and she is expected to have her condition reviewed every six months under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006.