A psychiatrist drowned her teenage daughter in a bath before taking an overdose of sleeping tablets and anti-depressants, a court heard today.
Lynn Gibbs, who is on trial for murder, told investigators she believed there was no hope for herself nor her daughter Ciara, who she feared was anorexic.
The Central Criminal Court at Dublin heard the 16-year-old's body was found by her father on the floor of an en suite bathroom. His semi-conscious wife was found wet on the bedroom floor.
"I remember being very low," Ms Gibbs later told gardaí. "I believed there was no hope for Ciara or myself. I planned that we'd both die."
Ms Gibbs (47), from Killure in Gowran, Co Kilkenny, has pleaded not guilty to murdering her daughter at their home between 11pm on November 25th, 2006, and 10am on November 26th.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Brendan Grehan SC told the jury there was no divergence between the prosecution and defence.
Ms Gibbs admits to murdering her daughter and that she intended to kill her daughter but was pleading not guilty to the charge by reason of insanity, he said.
Mr Grehan told the jury that to return a not-guilty verdict by reason of insanity, it had to be satisfied that the accused did not know the nature or the quality of the act, she didn't know it was wrong, or was unable to refrain from doing the act.
"The psychiatric evidence you will hear in this case is all one way," he said.
"Pointing to a verdict of not guilty by insanity."
The case was summed up by her comment made to gardaí, he said.
"Effectively Lynn Gibbs had decided in the state of hopelessness that it was best for her and her daughter to die."
Mr Grehan said Ms Gibbs and her husband Gerard had concerns their daughter suffered from anorexia and were seeking medical help for her.
Around the same time Ms Gibbs began suffering from sleepless nights, weight loss, and depression, had stopped working, and had visited a number of doctors who had prescribed medication.
Patrick Gageby SC, representing the accused, confirmed Ms Gibbs admitted murdering her daughter.
The court heard the accused suffered from anorexia at the age of 17, had a bout of clinical depression about 20 years ago, and that her mother had taken her own life.
Ms Gibbs told gardaí she feared her daughter's outcome was poor and although she could hardly recall the night concerned, she remembered running a bath, calling Ciara in to her room, and did not think there had been a struggle.
"I recall pushing her underneath the water," she said. "I recall taking her out of the bath. I think she was dead at that stage. I got in to the bath after taking the medication. I went under the water but I wasn't able to stay under. I don't recall when I cut my wrists," Ms Gibbs told gardaí.
Mr Gibbs, a college lecturer, cried as he told the court he and his son Gearoid (14), were visiting his elderly mother overnight when the tragedy occurred.
He found his daughter lying on the bathroom floor with her pyjama top wet and attempted resuscitation.
Mr Gibbs said his wife and daughter had an excellent relationship and they had an excellent marriage.
"She loved Ciara," he said.
State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, told the court the teenager died from drowning. Internal bruising at the back of the head, shoulders and rib cage showed the girl had had her head held under the water, she added.
Ms Gibbs was taken to hospital in Kilkenny, transferred to St Patrick's in Dublin, and later committed to the Central Mental Hospital where she has been undergoing treatment.
Mr Justice Paul Carney told the jury the law required them to hear the case even though psychiatric experts for the defence and prosecution were in agreement.
The court heard the jury had to hear expert evidence from consultant psychiatrists that Dr Gibbs's mental state was such she should not by held responsible for the killing.
Dr Tom Fahey a consultant psychiatrist from London said she presented a picture of full-blooded depressive illness developing from September onwards and diagnosed a major depressive disorder.
"Lynn Gibbs felt that her daughter was in a state of severe suffering that wasn't going to get any better, it was going to persist and she felt through a type of distorted reasoning that came through her illness that she should act to relieve her daughter of her suffering and take her own life at the same time."
While Dr Gibbs knew the nature and quality of her act she did not know what she was doing was wrong and in fact thought it was right and could not refrain from doing it, he said.
The best way forward was for Mrs Gibbs to remain in the Central Mental Hospital for treatment, he said.
The court heard if found not guilty by reason of insanity Dr Gibbs would remain in secure care, her situation reviewed from time to time, with the director of the Central Mental Hospital deciding if and when she should ever return to the community.
The trial continues tomorrow and is expected to conclude tomorrow.
Agencies