A 35-year-old man who killed his wife in the early hours of the morning of 4 November 2021, was discharged from hospital the previous day after being taken there by gardaí who had seen him acting oddly and were concerned about his safety.
Diego Costa Silva has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his 33-year-old wife, Fabiole Campara de Campos Silva.
The jury has been told there will be no issue about whether or not Mr Silva committed the acts that led to his wife’s death, and the only issue they have to decide on is if he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time.
The jurors were told defence and prosecution psychiatric experts agree on their evidence about Mr Silva’s state of mind, and the defence will be seeking a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Prosecuting counsel, Shane Costelloe said Mr Silva and his wife Fabiole were Brazilian nationals and were living in an apartment in Finglas.
He said it was alleged that at around 6.10am on 4 November 2021, Mr Silva struck his wife with knives and then “proceeded to sever her head from her body” with one of the knives.
Mr Silva phoned 999 saying firstly that he thought he had killed her wife. He also told the fire service that an “ambulance wouldn’t work” as she was definitely dead.
When gardaí arrived, they were let in by Mr Silva and found his wife lying partially clothed in a doorway with a knife protruding from her breast and her head “very obviously” separated from her torso.
Mr Costelloe told the jury that the day before the killing, Mr Silva had been arrested by gardaí who were concerned for his safety after they saw him jogging down the street, practically naked, in the middle of the day.
He was brought to hospital, the court was told, but was discharged that evening and returned home.
Defence Counsel Garnet Orange said it was admitted that Fabiole Campara de Campos Silva died as a result of injuries caused to her by Mr Silva.
Dublin Fire Brigade Officer Niall Murray gave evidence of receiving a 999 call from Mr Silva at around 6.20am.
A recording of the call was played to the court.
Mr Silva said he thought he had killed his wife – that she tried to kill him and he killed her first. He said he knew it sounded “bad” and he told Mr Murray he thought an ambulance would not work because “definitely she is dead”.
He told Mr Murray he cut his wife’s head. Mr Murray described Mr Silva’s demeanour on the call as “calm”.
The jurors will hear expert evidence from two forensic psychiatrists – one for the defence and one for the prosecution, and are expected to begin considering the insanity verdict by Thursday morning.
