Murder accused shouted about Cork hospital patient: ‘This man ate my son’

The young man accused of murdering an 88-year-old patient at the Mercy University Hospital was seen with blood covering his right hand and spattered around the room as he shouted about the innocent victim: “This man ate my son.”

Dylan Magee, aged 33, went on trial by judge and jury yesterday, where he pleaded “not guilty to murder, guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility”.

Assistant state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster testified that the victim, Matthew Healy, died from cardiac arrest as a result of injuries suffered during the assault.

Detective Garda Michelle Quinn outlined the background to the fatal incident. Mr Healy fell at his home in Berrings on January 13, 2023, and had to be admitted to hospital. His wife had died on January 3. He tested positive for covid on January 19, and needed oxygen.

The accused was admitted on January 19 because of the concern of family members that he was hallucinating. In the hospital, he was assigned a special care assistant from the time of his admission, three days before the fatal incident.

Det Garda Quinn said Dylan Magee was talking to himself and walking around all night on January 22, 2023. Another patient in the room with him earlier asked to be moved. The detective said doctors gave Mr Magee sedatives.

Mr Magee asked another patient if he had a blade. A nurse told him to go back to his bed.

The detective said that at 5.15am a nurse left the room to ring for a doctor. The care assistant assigned to Mr Magee had his back to him. He was changing his gloves. He heard footsteps and thumps. The care assistant asked him to stop, but he continued to punch Mr Healy four to six times. The care assistant shouted for help. A nurse ran in to the room.

Mr Magee gave Mr Healy two or three more punches. His right hand was covered in blood, and there was blood on his T-shirt and spattered on the bed. There was blood on Mr Healy’s face.

During this attack, Mr Magee said: “This man ate my son.”

Other staff responded to an alarm call to the area, and gardaí were also called to the room. Earlier in the incident, one of the nurses sustained a broken figure as he struggled to drag Mr Magee away from the late Mr Healy.

The accused man appeared before Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford and a jury of eight men and four women at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork, and he was arraigned on the single charge of murder.

Prosecution senior counsel Jane Hyland said: 

“This is a case which is very, very upsetting. It is very upsetting to listen to the evidence in this case. I want you to try and be as dispassionate as possible. That will be difficult.”

Mr Magee, of 30 Churchfield Green, Cork, is charged that on January 22, 2023, at Room 2, St Joseph’s Ward, Mercy University Hospital, he did murder Matthew Healy, contrary to common law.

The prosecution senior counsel said there were comments heard at the time, and by gardaí dealing with him afterwards, where Mr Magee spoke of the victim cannibalising children, of men with balaclavas, and of fire.

Ms Hyland told the jury that it would hear from psychiatrists who examined Mr Magee on behalf of the prosecution and the defence. She said the defence psychiatrist would say he was at the time delusional, did not know he was wrong, and could not refrain from acting the way he did.

She added that the prosecution psychiatrist substantially agreed, but took the view that Mr Magee knew it was an assault that was potentially fatal and, at some level, knew it was wrong, but he was unable to refrain from committing the act.

Ms Hyland said it was open to the jury to take a view on the psychiatric evidence that he was not guilty by reason of insanity or that it was manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The trial continues.