SHE STABBED HIM... THEN TOOK HOURS TO CALL 999

Autistic child had been knifed repeatedly Injured mother insisted on female doctor Locals tell of ‘gorgeous, brown-eyed boy’

THE mother who stabbed her autistic toddler to death waited hours before calling 999 claiming he had suffered a heart attack.

Maha Al Adheem, a doctor in her early 40s, stabbed her threeyear-old son ‘several times’ in the abdomen, legs and chest in the mid-afternoon before

wounding herself in the chest and side a number of hours later.

Sources have revealed details of the horrific moment gardaí and emergency workers broke into their home and found her ‘calm

‘but severely bleeding’ in the kitchen, while her son Omar was lying on a bed in the bedroom, after a serious loss of blood. He had ‘already passed’ but they desperately tried to resuscitate him.

Ms Al Adheem, a Muslim, refused medical attention from a male doctor at the scene, sources told the Irish Daily Mail. She is believed to have a psychiatric illness and was last night being treated at a psychiatric wing in St James’s Hospital, Dublin, after she underwent life-saving surgery on Monday night.

The Iraqi woman phoned the emergency services shortly before 7pm on Monday, and neighbours yesterday told how the first ambulance crew to arrive at the Riverside flat complex in Poddle Park, Kimmage, believed tragic the boy had suffered a heart attack.

They tried to get into the locked apartment and called gardaí who broke the door down a short time later. They then came on the horrific scene, discovering that Omar was already dead and his mother was suffering from stab wounds. It is believed the boy was dead for a number of hours at this stage.

One neighbour, an accident and emergency doctor, was asked to help treat Ms Al Adheem but she refused to allow a male doctor examine her for religious reasons.

Her husband, with whom she is no longer in a relationship, was comforted by friends last night. He was told late on Monday night of the tragedy.

Gardaí at Crumlin were last night trying to establish what led to the violent episode. According to one source close to the investigation: ‘She was a dedicated mother. She was studying for her exams to work as a doctor with the Irish Medicines Board.

‘She may have been a bit isolated on her own. At this point, gardaí do not know.’

Detectives were last night waiting for medics to give the okay to interview her. However, this could take ‘days if not weeks’ because of her ‘delicate psychiatric condition’.

It is understood she qualified as a doctor at home and previously worked in Syria.

Omar was born in the Rotunda, Dublin, on January 9, 2014. His father Khalid Omran, who registered the birth, was described as a student on the birth cert. Both parents lived at the one-bedroom flat in Poddle Park when Omar was born.

Although Ms Al Adheem was named as a housewife on the birth cert, she later described herself as a doctor when she met Nessa Childers MEP on the campaign trail in Kimmage. The encounter was recorded by an Irish Independent journalist who was with Ms Childers at the time.

Ms Al Adheem told the MEP that she had moved to Ireland in 2011 but couldn’t find work as a doctor in this country.

She also complained about not being able to find a larger flat for her family because landlords wouldn’t accept tenants in receipt of rent supplement.

She told Ms Childers: ‘I worked as a doctor in Syria but cannot do so here, and I really want to work. I’m getting very mad about it.’ As flowers and tributes to Omar were placed outside the complex yesterday, neighbours spoke of their shock after learning about the tragedy.

Vivian Costello, who lives across from the Riverside flats, said: ‘The woman next door used to walk to the shops with them. She said the mum was a lovely lady and the little fella was a lovely wee fella.’

She said that sometimes she saw the father with the little boy on his tricycle, going up and down the street, adding: ‘Everything looked lovely; they looked like a lovely family. It’s just heartbreaking.’

Pointing towards the Garda forensics team at work across the road, Ms Costello added: ‘You don’t’ expect to look out of your front window and see this. I can only say that we are really sorry for the family and we are all so stunned.’

Lorraine Leon, who also lives across the road described Omar as a ‘very lively’ boy who was ‘mad about my dogs’.

She said: ‘He was gorgeous, beautiful. Big brown eyes, very lively, chatted. He would talk to you all the time.’

She added that his mother had appeared settled in the neighbourhood, saying: ‘She had her friends and mixed in with the community.

‘She was great. It’s just so hard to believe.’

‘She may have been isolated’ ‘He was gorgeous. Big brown eyes’