The trial of a 40 year old Irish man accused of beheading and dismembering his mother then burying her on Corstorphine Hill started at the High Court in Edinburgh today.
James Dunleavy, also known as Seamus Dunleavy, denies murdering Philomena, 66, of Marino, Dublin between 30 April and 7 May last year, and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by trying to cover up the alleged murder and destroy evidence.
The murder charge that he inflicted “blunt force trauma” by means unknown, compressed his mother’s throat and cut off her head and legs.
The charge further alleges that he put his mother’s torso, severed legs and head into a suitcase and took the dismembered body to Corstorphine Hill where he buried her.
Prosecutors also claim that Mr Dunleavy vacuumed and washed his flat to remove blood stains and set fire to a bed and mattress.
At the time of the incident Mr Dunleavy, had been living in a flat in Edinburgh’s Balgreen Road.
Earlier today the court heard from a cyclist who discovered the remains of Mrs Dunleavy on 6 June last year who was the first witness to be called.
The trial at the High Court in Edinburgh continues and is expected to last up to a month.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
