Lawyer found not guilty of murdering father by reason of insanity

Daire McCormack George, 31, admitted killing his father, Scott George, but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury returned the special verdict after hearing psychiatric evidence that he was suffering from schizo-affective disorder at the time of the attack.

The court heard Mr McCormack George stabbed his father 27 times at the family home in Drumans End, Tobersool, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, on December 12, 2024.

Evidence showed he had first been diagnosed with a mental health disorder in 2018 and had responded well to treatment. However, after a reduction in his anti-psychotic medication, he suffered a relapse and developed the delusional belief that his frail, housebound father intended to kill his mother and sister. He believed he had to kill his father to save them.

Psychiatrists told the court Mr McCormack George’s mental disorder meant he met the legal test for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Both the prosecution and defence urged the jury to return that verdict.

In his closing address, defence counsel Michael Bowman SC said the psychiatric evidence established that Mr McCormack George’s delusions had overwhelmed his judgment. Prosecuting counsel Vincent Heneghan SC described the case as “sad and tragic” and said all of the evidence supported the special verdict.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon told jurors that a verdict of guilty of murder would be contrary to the unchallenged expert medical evidence. She thanked the jury for their attention to what she described as a “sad and difficult case” and excused them from jury service for five years.

Following the verdict, members of Mr McCormack George’s family embraced one another and shook hands with lawyers on both sides.

Mr McCormack George was remanded to the Central Mental Hospital until August 13, when the court will hear evidence on his ongoing psychiatric treatment.