A man has been handed a life sentence for murdering his wife in County Mayo.
James Kilroy, of Kilbree Lower, Westport, claimed he was suffering from a mental disorder when he killed Valerie French-Kilroy, but his insanity defence was rejected.
On the June 14 2019, James Kilroy beat, stabbed and strangled his wife, Valerie French-Kilroy, to death.
Afterwards, he left her body in a campervan at the back of their house, and he was later found naked, running through some nearby fields.
At the outset of his trial, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but the jury rejected his defence, and last week, he was convicted of her murder.
Today, Valerie’s brother, David, spoke of how his beloved sister was ‘savagely slaughtered.’
He described her death as ‘violent and prolonged.’
The court heard she was a wonderful, positive, caring person, with a great sense of fun.
Kilroy was then handed a life sentence.
