Man who bludgeoned flatmate is acquitted as insane

A 23-year-old man who repeatedly hit a flatmate on the head with a large copper bolt which shattered his skull and left him wheelchair bound has been found not guilty by reason of insanity by a jury after they heard medical evidence that the man was schizophrenic.

Nigerian born Olumatemilorun Jimoh, who came to Ireland when he was 13, told gardaí he attacked flatmate Denis Mandic (27) at their shared house on Blarney Street in Cork on January 28th, 2016, because he was compelled to do so by an angel.

"I was trying to become God by absorbing his soul – I have no idea [how you absorb someone's soul]. An angel told me that if I killed the human race that has been destroying the planet, then I would earn my place," Mr Jimoh told gardaí during an interview after his arrest.

Today at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, a jury of seven men and five women took just 17 minutes to find Mr Jimoh not guilty by reason of insanity of assaulting cause harm to Croatian-born Mr Mandic who had only moved into the house a few weeks prior to the attack.

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Paranoid

Forensic psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks from the Central Mental Hospital said Mr Jimoh began to develop schizophrenia in 2015 when he was aged 20/21. He became paranoid about his parents and younger sister, believing for instance his sister was trying to kill him with an invisible knife.

Dr Monks said that Mr Jimoh heard voices from Anos, god of chaos, and also heard the planets speaking to him. The voices told him everyone was in hell except him and he had to release them by teaching them humility. He was also told he would become a god.

On one occasion the day was bright and it darkened and Mr Jimoh felt the sun was winking at him. He continued to hear Jupiter telling him to kill all of humanity, and Saturn telling him he would be given the power to carry out the killings, he said.

Mr Jimoh had responded well to anti-psychotic medication since coming to the hospital but at the time of the attack, he was clearly schizophrenic, suffering from delusions and auditory hallucinations including when he was hearing voices, said Dr Monks.

He said even in the video recording of him being interviewed by gardaí, Mr Jimoh displayed symptoms of his delusional state including when he told gardaí he was trying to cut off his fingernails after receiving a telepathic message to do so from Queen Elizabeth.

Mental disorder

Dr Monks said he was satisfied Mr Jimoh met the terms required under section 5 of the Criminal Justice Insanity Act 2006 which requires a person to have been diagnosed by a consultant psychiatrist that they were suffering from a mental disorder at the time of their action.

The Act required that the mental disorder was such that the accused person could not be held responsible for it either due to not knowing the nature or quality of the act, not knowing that they were doing wrong or being unable to refrain from doing the act, he said.

Dr Monks told defence counsel Tom Creed SC that meeting one of the three conditions was sufficient to find that someone was not guilty by reason of insanity but he was satisfied Mr Jimoh met all three conditions when he assaulted Mr Mandic.

The jury returned what Mr Creed SC described as "a special verdict" of not guilty by reason of insanity and Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said he was satisfied in those circumstances for Mr Jimoh to be detained at the hospital.