Courts / Ireland / Report
Mum suffering from personality disorder is jailed for stabbing toddler son to death
Summary
A 47-year-old woman from Ballybrack has been sentenced to five years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court for the manslaughter of her two-year-old son in October 2014. Hazel Waters pleaded guilty to killing Muhammad Hassan Khan between 15 and 16 October 2014. Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed the sentence, noting that Ms Waters's personality disorder diminished her responsibility for the killing, though he expressed concern about her limited engagement with mental health professionals regarding the circumstances. The judge indicated an appropriate sentence would have been eight to ten years but reduced it to seven years with two years suspended in light of her guilty plea. The sentence was backdated to October 2014 when Ms Waters entered custody. Evidence presented at sentencing indicated Ms Waters was suffering from acute psychotic symptoms at the time. A post-mortem examination found the child died from scissor wounds to the neck. Following her release, Ms Waters must comply with a four-year bond requiring continued medical treatment and residence as determined by probation services.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Mum suffering from personality disorder is jailed for stabbing toddler son to death. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- 16 October Hearing Or Sentence
- October 16, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2017-06-01 Publication
Why: Dr Wright said she could not make that assessment because Ms Waters claims to have no memory of the killing and therefore her state of mind at the time cannot be established. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Outcome: Justice McCarthy said he felt that the appropriate sentence would be one of eight to ten years but taking into account her guilty plea, he reduced that to seven years with two suspended.
Places mentioned
- Central Criminal Court
- Central Mental Hospital
Topics
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