'It is not a question of if he will kill us but when': Mother believes son has been failed by mental health services

A middle-aged woman believes that her son has been failed by the mental health services and that it is now only a matter of time before he kills them.

A six-month jail term was imposed on the 33-year-old Cork man who was convicted of breaching Domestic Violence orders by threatening to kill his parents and members of his family.

The man’s mother said at an in camera hearing of Cork District Court for domestic violence cases – where the parties cannot be identified – “I certainly believe it is not a question of if he will kill us but when. I am living on high alert.” 

She described him as suffering paranoid schizophrenia and that he was hearing voices all around him.

She said that he previously threated to smash up cars belonging to her husband and another member of the family and he came down and did so – causing €8,000 worth of damage.

He later made a phone call which his mother recorded, in which he threatened: “I will smash your skulls like I smashed the cars.” 

She said in a victim impact statement that she loved her son and that he had been very badly let down by the mental health services. She said two consultant psychiatrists recommended that he be assessed at the Central Mental Hospital.

“But each time we are told there isn’t a bed for him. When he kills one of us they will find him a bed for the rest of his life,” she said.

The accused has been prescribed medication but refused to take it. His mother said: “I know the signs – I am terrified.” 

Killian McCarthy, defence solicitor, said the accused thinks he can manage his condition on his own without medication but that “he falls back into a certain scenario.” 

Speaking by video link from prison, where has been in custody since April 12, the defendant said he wanted a restraining order against his mother, father, aunts, uncles and siblings and never wanted to speak to them again.

The young man who spoke up a lot during the sentencing hearing, often very animatedly, said, “I don’t have a mental health problem. I don’t need mental health medication.” 

Imposing the six-month jail term backdated to April 12, Judge Olann Kelleher said: “I make a recommendation that he is seen by the prison psychiatrist as a matter or extreme urgency.”