Carrigaline man found not guilty of murder of brother by reason of insanity is remanded in care

The 43-year-old Carrigaline man accused of murdering his brother and attempting to murder his father, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity, was remanded in custody to the Central Mental Hospital today for continuation of his in-patient care.

John Murphy Jnr of Seaview Avenue, Carrigaline, Co Cork, was so found on April 24 on charges of murdering his 27-year-old brother, Shane Murphy, and attempting to murder his father, John Aloysius “Weeshie” Murphy Snr, who was 75 at the time, at the family home on Saturday, March 26, 2022, contrary to common law.

He was also found not guilty by reason of insanity on two related charges of producing a knife during the crimes.

“It is appropriate the court would make an order returning him to the Central Mental Hospital, thereafter to take whatever therapeutic course in ordered,” Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford said after reading the report of consultant psychiatrist Dr Patrick McLoughlin, agreed by both prosecution and defence.

Prosecution senior counsel Jane Hyland said Dr McLoughlin’s report stated that John Murphy Jnr continues to suffer paranoid schizophrenia and has significant treatment needs that can only be provided by the Central Mental Hospital.

The law provides for reviews every six months of his detention for in-patient treatment but the matter does not have to be brought back before the Central Criminal Court.

Clinical psychiatrists Dr Stephen Monks and Dr Jamie Walsh, for the defence and prosecution respectively, testified a fortnight ago that the accused man, John Murphy Jnr was in an acute psychotic state as a result of schizophrenic illness at the time, that his judgement was significantly impaired and he was suffering delusions and hallucinations and had lost touch with reality.

In effect, there was agreement between the prosecution and defence about the psychiatric evidence in the case.

Detective Garda Ian Breen outlined the background to the events in the early hours of that morning when the accused man stabbed his brother nine times causing his death and stabbed his father multiple times too in attempted murder.

He made a series of allegations against several members of his family, all of which gardaí believed were without any basis. These included allegations that his life was being threatened.

Det Garda Breen said that the late Shane Murphy had acted in a selfless manner to protect his father from a knife attack by his brother John and that in so acting he was himself stabbed nine times, one of those wounds —a stab to the heart — being fatal on its own.

In evidence of the tragic nature of the incident at the Murphy family home on that date just over two years ago, Det Garda Breen said it was believed that Shane Murphy died in his bedroom while on a phone call to the emergency services.