Man believed there was a ‘homosexual conspiracy’ in prison when he killed cellmate, trial told

A “floridly psychotic” man believed there was a “homosexual conspiracy” in Dublin’s Cloverhill Prison when he scalded a cellmate with hot water before strangling him, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

The trial of Michael Connolly (55), originally from Co Louth, was told that he believed that Mark Lawlor (37), from Drumcondra in Dublin, had “some kind of exalted identity like a king” and was “a kingpin of Dublin” when he killed him in a cell in the prison on November 23rd, 2019.

Mr Connolly has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Lawlor by reason of insanity.

The jury heard that Mr Connolly believed there was “a homosexual conspiracy” between the prisoners and prison officers, and that two psychiatrists would give evidence that he was suffering from an active mental disorder at the time.

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Outlining the facts of the case, prosecution counsel Tony McGillicuddy SC said the incident took place in the jail on a Friday night into the early hours of Saturday while the accused and deceased were sharing a cell after being remanded to the prison on unconnected matters.

Mr McGillicuddy said that at 11.34pm on the night a call light was activated by prisoners in the adjoining cell, who heard a scuffle and someone calling out “Davey” or “David”. The prisoners thought it was Mr Lawlor and he sounded hoarse, so they thought he was choking.

A prison officer responded and looked into the cell and saw Mr Connolly on top of Mr Lawlor with his hands around his neck. The cell door was opened and Mr Connolly was taken off Mr Lawlor, who was pronounced dead at 12.55am.

Totally calm

Prison officer Adrian Richmond told Mr McGillicuddy that Mr Connolly was very calm when he was removed from the cell.

“He was totally calm and didn’t resist in any way,” he said.

Garda Inspector Darragh Kenny confirmed to Mr McGillicuddy that a postmortem revealed that Mr Lawlor had sustained multiple superficial burns and had blistering on his face, neck and arms, which were consistent with having been scalded by boiling or hot water.

There were two lacerations to the back of Mr Lawlor’s scalp, which may have been caused by a sharp edge such as his head being struck against the bar or leg of a bed. He suffered manual strangulation and straddling of the chest, causing asphyxia and leading to death.

Det Garda Ronan Coffey gave evidence to Fionnuala O’Sullivan BL, prosecuting, of the garda interviews with Mr Connolly, in which the accused said he thought Mr Lawlor was “a kingpin of Dublin”.

“I thought I would get revenge. I thought of boiling the kettle and pouring it over him; I thought it would be enough, but it escalated to murder. Cloverhill is as bad as Shawshank, they’re all at it,” he told gardaí.

Det Garda Coffey went on to confirm to defence counsel Michael Bowman SC that Mr Connolly made references to the Norse god Odin and the Catholic Church.

Substance-induced psychosis

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks told Mr McGillicuddy that Mr Connolly’s first contact with the mental health services was in 2013, when he was assessed as being psychotic due to substance-induced psychosis.

Dr Monks said that Mr Connolly was again admitted to the mental health services in 2015 after setting fire to his own house, and was then diagnosed with schizophrenia. Dr Monks said that in 2019 the accused’s diagnosis was schizoaffective disorder.

Following the killing of Mr Lawlor, Mr Connolly was assessed by a psychiatrist who said he had apparent thought disorder. Dr Monks said his colleague Dr Brenda Wright said Mr Connolly presented as “floridly psychotic” at that time.

In his opening remarks to the jury, Mr McGillicuddy said that there was no dispute that the accused caused the death of Mr Lawlor and Mr Connolly had acknowledged as much.

He said the real issue for the jury to consider is whether Mr Connolly is entitled to the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity or if they should find the accused guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford and the jury of seven men and five women.