The Cruellest Cut: Women Who Kill

Women kill for the same reasons as men: greed, revenge, self-defence. They kill to get themselves out of embarrassing situations or to keep their dirty secrets hidden. But they also kill for more distinct reasons: to end abuse, to `protect' their children or because they have reached snapping point and can take no more. And just because women kill less often than men, it doesn't mean that they can' t be every bit as vicious. Anthony Galvin examines the chilling cases of Irish women who have committed gory, unthinkable crimes. Their victims include neighbours, children, partners and husbands, and the forensic details are shocking. Amongst the cases he looks at are: * The killing of Tracey Butler in Limerick. She was killed by her best friend, Deborah Hannon, and another woman, Suzanne Reddan, in revenge for another killing. * Mary Cole, a teenage girl who drowned two toddlers in her care in a pique after a jumper was taken from her. * The parents of Kelly Fitzgerald whose horrific abuse and neglect of their daughter led to her death at the age of fifteen.