Kerry man sentenced to life imprisonment for 'violent' murder of his 'wonderful' mother

Fiona Magennis

A 55-year-old Kerry man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the “violent” murder of his “wonderful” and “hardworking” mother - described as someone who “always had a smile for everyone” - whom he strangled to death at her Killarney home three years ago.

Billy Burns had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of his 75-year-old mother Miriam Burns, but a jury unanimously rejected that defence earlier this week.

The 12 jurors accepted the prosecution's case that the actions of 55-year-old Burns in killing his mother stemmed not from mental illness but from his "long-term abuse of drugs and alcohol" and anger towards his mother.

The trial heard that Burns had been aggressive and violent towards Ms Burns since he was a teenager and on one occasion broke her jaw.

Burns had denied to gardaí any involvement in his mother's death, told lies about his movements on the day and made deliberate attempts to destroy evidence related to the killing, the prosecution had also argued.

Ms Justice Karen O’Connor on Friday sentenced Burns to the mandatory term of life imprisonment.

Passing sentence, Ms Justice O’Connor noted the family’s decision not to provide a victim impact statement to the court.

'Unimaginable grief'

Ms Justice O’Connor conveyed her condolences to Miriam Burn’s family, friends and neighbours who, she said, had displayed “extraordinary dignity and composure” at all times despite hearing heartbreaking evidence of the “violent nature” of their mother’s death. She acknowledged the “unimaginable grief” for those left behind.

The judge said those present in court for the trial had received an insight into the type of person Miriam Burns was, noting that despite bringing up her family on her own, the 75-year-old always had “a big smile for everyone” and was “always glamourous”.

The judge said she got a strong sense that the deceased was a “hardworking woman” who looked after her family and was committed to all of them.

“The love and grief this family feels was palpable during the trial,” she said. “It’s a testament to the love she gave to all of you.”

Evidence

The trial had heard evidence, she said, of the efforts made by Ms Burn’s son Shane in Australia and of her daughter Sharon to find out if their mother was okay.

Ms Justice O’Connor said one could only imagine the shock Shane Burns must have felt when he was “on the end of a phoneline” and heard this “desperate, desperate news”.

She said Ms Burns had embraced technology and loved Netflix as well as Facetime and WhatsApp which, she said, allowed her to communicate with her family.

“She was a woman who loved to chat no matter how busy she was,” Ms Justice O’Connor said. “She was described in this trial as being the queen of communication”.

The judge told Ms Burns’ family they had “honoured her legacy” throughout the trial process and would no doubt “always honour the wonderful woman she was, the dignity she taught you and the values she had”.

Miriam Burns was found dead at her home at Ardshanavooley, Killarney, Co Kerry on August 15th, 2022, when concerned family members asked neighbours to check on her.

It was the prosecution’s case that Burns killed his mother some time between 10pm on August 12th and the early hours of August 13th.

Pathologist's report

A pathologist's report showed that she died from manual strangulation associated with blunt force trauma to the head.

During his trial, State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster described injuries to Ms Burns's face, neck, back and legs that were consistent with multiple blows, manual strangulation and possible suffocation.

Two psychiatrists differed on whether Billy Burns, who the trial heard was suffering a manic episode related to bipolar disorder when he killed his mother, qualified for a special verdict of not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.

Burns' treating psychiatrist Dr Eugene Morgan, who was called by the defence, told the trial that the 55-year-old was suffering from hypomania due to bipolar affective disorder and met the criteria for the special verdict.

Dr Stephen Monks, a consultant psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital, said that despite Burns's mental illness, he understood the nature and quality of his actions when killing his mother, knew it was wrong and was able to refrain from the killing.

The jury of eight men and four women at the Central Criminal Court took six hours and eight minutes to reject Billy Burns' plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The trial heard that Miriam Burns, a mother of four adult children, lived alone at Ardshanavooley. Two days before her death, Billy Burns returned to the Killarney area having spent time away.

He did not have a place to stay and lived rough in the Ross Castle area.

On August 12th, he called to his mother's home but the visit "ended badly", and a witness saw Billy Burns slamming his mother's front door and shouting at her: "You f*****g c**t."

Burns returned to his mother's house at about 10pm that night and remained there until the following morning.

He left his mother's home at about 7.30pm on a bike with a rucksack on his back and cycled back to Ross Castle where he lit fires at various locations in an attempt to destroy the items he had taken from his mother's.

DNA

The trial was told that garda forensic teams found the remnants of four fires in the Ross Castle area. Among the ashes of one fire, they found a small piece of fabric that matched the bloodstained night slip that Ms Burns had been wearing when she died. They also found a cushion with blood-staining that matched Ms Burn’s DNA in Billy Burn’s rucksack.

Burns was subsequently arrested and interviewed. When asked about allegations that he had killed his mother, Burns replied: "I didn't kill the bitch."

Sharon Kelleher, the defendant's eldest sibling, told the trial that their mother knew from experience that Billy could be dangerous, but she always tried to help him. Ms Kelleher said her mother "got the brunt of it" when the accused was coming down off drugs.

Before the sentence was passed, Detective Inspector John Kelly told prosecuting counsel Ronan Prendergast BL that Burns has 42 previous convictions, including for drugs, unauthorised taking, public order and road traffic offences as well as one for assault causing harm and production of an article.

The court also heard that the case against Burns consisted of witness evidence as well forensic and technical evidence and information garnered from more than 20,000 hours of CCTV examined by gardaí.

Detective Inspector John Kelly confirmed to Mr Prendergast that prior the killing, Burns had sourced drugs including crack cocaine and cannabis and that the argument which took place between Burns and his mother on August 12th was likely related to the issue of money.