Man who claimed ailing mother (58) attacked him is convicted of murder

A jury at the Central Criminal Court has convicted a 39-year-old man of murdering his mother at her home in Sligo on May 1, 2023. The man had pleaded not guilty and claimed he acted in self-defence during an alleged attack. He also asserted that his mother had inflicted stab wounds to her own thighs. The State Pathologist's evidence revealed extensive injuries to the deceased, including signs of strangulation and smothering, along with bruises and lacerations across her body. The jury of ten women and two men deliberated for over five hours before rejecting both the self-defence claim and a suggestion that provocation might reduce the conviction to manslaughter. The man, with an address in Crossmolina, County Mayo, has been remanded in custody. He will be sentenced to the mandatory life term on June 3rd at the Central Criminal Court.