Overview
- Jurors deliberated for one hour and 23 minutes before returning a unanimous special verdict in the Central Criminal Court.
- Experts testified that McGowan was suffering from schizoaffective disorder and did not appreciate the nature or wrongfulness of his actions or control himself at the time.
- Mr Justice Paul McDermott ordered McGowan’s immediate commitment to the Central Mental Hospital, directed a psychiatric assessment, and set a Feb. 20 hearing on ongoing care.
- John McGowan, 66, had flown from the United States on a mission to help his son; he was killed at the Ballyfin Demesne hotel on Nov. 12, 2024.
- Court evidence detailed McGowan’s prior psychiatric crises, including a 2022 incident on a Paris-bound flight and involuntary admissions in New York and Paris, as well as his detailed confession to Gardaí about the killing.