31-year-old Henry McGowan, from Brooklyn, New York, was found to be having a psychotic episode when he strangled his father to death at the 5-star hotel.
A jury has returned a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity in the trial of an American man who killed his father at Ballyfin Demesne in November 2024.
31-year-old Henry McGowan, from Brooklyn, New York, was found to be having a psychotic episode when he strangled his father to death at the 5-star hotel.
John McGowan, a Wall Street trader, travelled to Dublin on the 12th of November 2024 on what the prosecution described as a “mission of mercy” - to find his son, Henry, whose mental health was deteriorating, and bring him back to New York.
Tragically, he died at the hands of his son in a changing room just off the swimming pool area of Ballyfin Demesne in Co Laois where they were due to stay while Henry waited on new travel documents after discarding his passport and belongings.
Two independent forensic psychiatrists were in agreement that Henry was having a psychotic episode when he strangled his father to death.
He had a history of mental illness and was diagnosed with schizoaffected disorder.
The facts of the case were not in dispute, and after just over an hour of jury deliberations, the special verdict was returned this afternoon.
Henry McGowan will now be further assessed at the Central Mental Hospital.
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