psychiatrist insane ...update

[Guest guest]

Insanity verdict over drowning [Lynn Gibbs' house] Ciara Gibbs

was discovered by her father and brotherA psychiatrist who drowned her

daughter in a bath has been found not guilty of murder, by reason of

insanity.

Lynn Gibbs, 47, admitted killing her 16-year-old daughter Ciara at their

home in Gowran, County Kilkenny, in November 2006.

Both the prosecution and defence had argued at Dublin's Circuit Criminal

Court that she had been suffering from a mental disorder at the time.

She was committed back to the Central Mental Hospital for further

treatment.

It took the jury 20 minutes to reach its conclusion.

The judge told the jury she met at least two of the three conditions

needed to bring in a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

He said any one of the three conditions would allow an insanity verdict,

and the jury would be saying " that psychiatry is bunkum " if it brought

in any other verdict.

Mrs Gibbs had taken an overdose of sleeping tablets and anti-depressants

in an attempt to kill herself after drowning her daughter Ciara.

'Clearly depressed'

The jury had heard earlier from fellow psychiatrist and friend Dr Marese

Cheasty, who had visited the house on the night Ciara died.

Dr Cheasty said although Mrs Gibbs was clearly depressed and her

thinking distorted, she never thought she was a danger to herself or

anyone else.

She said she had urged her to go into hospital, but Mrs Gibbs did not

want to because she wanted to be there for Ciara, whom she feared was

suffering from anorexia.

The court also heard from Mrs Gibbs' younger sister and her stepmother,

who both told of their concerns for Lynn and Ciara's wellbeing in the

preceeding weeks.

Ciara's father and brother found her body lying on the floor of an

en-suite bathroom, while Mrs Gibbs was lying on the bedroom floor.

Mr Gibbs tried to resuscitate his daughter, but could not.

Mrs Gibbs told gardai two months later that she remembered running a

bath and pushing her daughter under the water.