Man accused of killing uncle in 'frenzied' axe attack

A man accused of killing his uncle in a "frenzied" axe attack was a "text book paranoid schizophrenic" a jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard.

Henry McLaren (aged 34), of Edenmore Drive, Raheny denies murdering his uncle, Thomas Demspey at Edenmore Drive on February 10th 2007.

Dr Brian McCaffrey, a consultant psychiatrist told Mr Erwin Mil Arden SC, defending, that he had been to see Mr McLaren on several occasions at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, after his uncle's death.

He said that Mr McLaren was undoubtedly suffering from the illness when he attacked his uncle. "I don't have any doubt that on the day his uncle was killed Henry McLaren was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and his actions were driven by the illness."

Professor Marie Cassidy told prosecuting counsel Mr Patrick Gageby SC that Mr Dempsey died from massive head injuries and had been struck at least twenty times with an axe, causing a large hole in the left side of his skull and severely damaging his brain.

She said that, at post mortem, Mr Dempsey's brain was only half the normal size and he also had injuries to the right side of his head, caused by the axe blows forcing his head against the hard floor.

Prof Cassidy said Mr Dempsey had no defence injuries suggesting he had been taken by surprise or quickly over come. She said that the amount of force used was definite "over kill" and the attack could be described as "frenzied".

Detective Garda Liam O'Sullivan told Mr Gageby that Mr McLaren had insisted he be called Red and refused to sign his statements with his real name. He told gardai Jimmy Hendrix had told him to kill his uncle. "He said he was the devil. I am a man and Jimmy is a woman. We are a couple."

Mr McLaren said he knew white people were the devil from watching television and it was his job to look after the coal in the house because coal was black. "Everyone knows God is black."

He said his uncle, who he lived with since his parents had got a barring order against him, was a paedophile. "Tommy used to have his hands on Ireland. He was the devil. He put briquettes on the fire. The game shouldn't be played like that. It's sick." When asked what game he was referring to he told gardai he meant golf.

Det. Gda O'Sullivan said that there was no indication Mr Dempsey had ever done anything to harm children.

Dr McCaffrey said Mr McLaren had several long running delusions, some of which he continued to hold today. He thought his father was the leader of a paedophile ring and he himself was a champion golfer for who the Central Mental Hospital was going to build a golf course.

He insisted on being called Red because of an affinity with American Indians. He thought that Sinn Féin had massacred the Indians in the 19th Century.

Dr McCaffrey said Mr McLaren continued to be concerned about Sinn Féin, who he thought were a danger to him. He thought that the gardaí were Sinn Féin although there were none in Court.

Mr McLaren told him that at the time of the killing he thought he was black and was convinced he was doing the right thing. He thought that Jack Dempsey, a boxer, was talking through Mr Dempsey's mouth, telling him to kill him.

Dr McCaffrey said that Mr McLaren had committed the killing in a kind of fantasy. "He wasn't aware of the screaming or shouting. He was in a dream world away on his own, totally away from reality."

He said that in over thirty years examining people accused of murder he had seen several people with paranoid schizophrenia and their attacks were "more than gruesome". "I have seen this before with someone who had schizophrenia but I have never seen it before in someone who didn't have schizophrenia."

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Barry White and the jury of seven men and five women. It is expected go into it's closing stages tomorrow.