31-year-old Henry McGowan, from Brooklyn, New York is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
A court has heard a man who killed his father at a five star hotel in Laois in 2024 believed he was attacking an imposter at the time.
31-year-old Henry McGowan, from Brooklyn, New York, has pleaded NOT GUILTY to murdering 66-year-old, John McGowan, by reason of insanity.
Henry McGowan was experiencing a relapse of schizoaffective disorder on the 12th of November 2024, when he hit his father’s head against a wall and strangled him in the changing rooms of Ballyfin Demesne.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist, Dr Stephen Monks, today told the court Mr McGowan first experienced a psychotic episode in 2022, and was later diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder.
Dr Monks now believes the more suitable diagnosis is that of schizoaffective disorder.He said the features of his psychosis on the day of his father’s death were similar to that of his previous experience, including believing the victim was not his real father.
The court heard earlier that day, he withheld symptoms he was experiencing from doctors who were interviewing him in the Mater hospital, in order to pass what he believed was a test.
He later told Dr Monks he believed the staff at the hotel were actors, filling the space for him to complete the mission of killing the man he believed was not his father.
Henry McGowan has pleaded not guilty to murder, by reason of insanity.
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