A DUBLIN man who beheaded his mother and tried to hide her dismembered body in a shallow grave in Edinburgh must be kept in hospital detention, a judge has ordered.
James Dunleavy was expected to be sentenced today for brutally killing his mother last year.
But a judge at Edinburgh’s High Court postponed the sentencing after hearing that psychiatrists are still trying to assess the 40-year-old’s mental condition.
Dunleavy was convicted of the culpable homicide of his mother, Philomena, as well as trying to cover-up the killing by destroying evidence and burying her body in a nature reserve. He had denied murdering her.
Mrs Dunleavy, a mother-of-five, travelled to Edinburgh to spend time with James, her eldest son, in early April last year. He killed her in his Balgreen Road flat between April 30 and May 7, police said, with her remains lying undiscovered until early June.
During one of several harrowing sessions, Dunleavy’s trial heard evidence that the 66-year-old may still have been alive, but unconscious, when he began to hack off her legs with a knife and saw.
The trial also heard his mental condition was complex, with three psychiatrists agreeing that he clearly had problems but disagreeing about the specific diagnosis.
One witness said Dunleavy claimed to be “hearing voices”. Another said his mother had come into an Edinburgh police station days before she was killed to ask for a cheap room, saying she did not want to be with her son because he was having “an episode.”
Dunleavy was convicted of culpable homicide on grounds of diminished responsibility, as well as attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
Judge Lord Jones ordered him to be detained in hospital while psychiatrists continue to assess his mental condition.
During today’s hearing, Dunleavy was ordered to remain in detention at the State Hospital in Carstairs so the assessment could be completed.
He is due back in court in June, when he will appear before the High Court in Perth.
