Man who killed uncle found to be insane

A MAN with "text book" paranoid schizophrenia has been found not guilty of killing his uncle with an axe by reason of insanity…

A MAN with "text book" paranoid schizophrenia has been found not guilty of killing his uncle with an axe by reason of insanity at the Central Criminal Court.

The jury of six men and six women took just under three hours to find Henry McLaren (34), Edenmore Drive, Raheny, Dublin, not guilty of murdering his uncle, Thomas Dempsey at Edenmore Drive on February 10th, 2007.

Mr Dempsey died from massive head injuries after being hit more than 20 times with an axe.

The jury heard from three consultant psychiatrists who all agreed that Mr McLaren was suffering from severe delusions at the time of the killing and his actions were a direct result of his illness.

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Dr Paul O'Connell told Erwin Mill Arden SC, defending, that Mr McLaren had a family history of schizophrenia with his uncle, the deceased, receiving treatment for the illness many years before.

He said Mr McLaren still held some of the delusions that had been material to his attacking his uncle and had only partially responded to treatment.

At the time of the killing Mr McLaren thought that Jimi Hendrix had told him his uncle was the devil. He thought that his uncle wanted to die and boxer Jack Dempsey had been speaking through his uncle's mouth and had wanted to kill him.

Dr Damian James Mohan told Mill Arden that Mr McLaren's parents had obtained a barring order against him about Christmas 2006. At 4.45am on the morning of the killing, gardaí were called to his parents' house because Mr McLaren said he wanted to kill his father.

At about 3pm, neighbours heard noises coming from Mr Dempsey's house, where Mr McLaren was living. The emergency services were called but Mr McLaren would not let them in. The Garda were called and they eventually forced their way inside.

Mr Dempsey was found dead in the hall. Mr McLaren ran up the stairs and was eventually arrested by armed gardaí.

Dr Brian McCaffrey said that Mr McLaren had committed the killing in a kind of fantasy. "He wasn't aware of the screaming or shouting. He was in a dream world away on his own, totally away from reality."

Dr Mohan told Mr Justice Barry White that, if someone had tried to intervene in the moments before the attack , there would likely have been two fatalities rather than one.

Mr Justice White thanked the jury for their careful attention and excused them for further jury service for life. He ordered that Mr McLaren be committed to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum.