American committed to Central Mental Hospital over killing of father at Ballyfin Demesne in Laois

A wealthy New Yorker who strangled his father at a five-star Laois resort after the 66-year-old had travelled from the US on a "mission of mercy" to help his son, continues to suffer from a mental disorder and has been committed to the Central Mental Hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

A Central Criminal Court judge made the order this afternoon, two weeks after a jury returned the special verdict of not guilty of murder by reason of insanity following the trial of Henry McGowan.

On February 12 at the Central Criminal Court, a jury accepted the evidence of two psychiatrists that the defendant was suffering from schizoaffective disorder when he killed his father just over an hour after arriving at the Ballyfin Demesne hotel and fulfilled the criteria for the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Henry McGowan (31), with an address at Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of John McGowan (66) at Ballyfin Demesne, Ballyfin, Portlaoise, Co Laois, on November 12, 2024.

Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, told Mr Justice Paul McDermott today that he had a report from consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Mark Joynt of the Central Mental Hospital.

Dr Joynt, who appeared via video-link, told Mr Grehan he had been tasked with preparing a report on Henry McGowan pursuant to section 5(3) of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 as to whether the defendant is suffering from a mental disorder and is in need of inpatient care at the CMH.

Dr Joynt said the defendant had been transferred from various units within the CMH to date, which has been based on him making satisfactory progress.

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The witness told the prosecutor that Henry McGowan has fully accepted his diagnosis of having a mental illness and his need for treatment.

Dr Joynt also said the defendant had told him that he is absolutely committed to remaining on his medication - which includes a long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication - to prevent a relapse of his mental illness.  

Dr Joynt said in his opinion Henry McGowan's symptoms and history are most consistent with schizoaffective disorder.

The expert witness said, having examined the defendant, he is of the view that he does present with a severe relapsing mental illness in the absence of appropriate care and treatment.

The witness said Mr McGowan met the criteria for a mental disorder as defined in the Mental Health Act 2001 and has a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. He also said that because of the severity of the illness, the defendant's judgment is so impaired that a failure to continue to detain him in the CMH could lead to a serious deterioration in his condition.

Dr Joynt said Henry McGowan has demonstrated a positive response to his initial treatment. However, he said the defendant has significant outstanding treatment needs and requires specialist treatment and intervention which can only be provided by the CMH.

The expert witness said Mr McGowan continues to suffer from a mental disorder and is in need of inpatient care. He said the defendant requires specialist inpatient treatment, which cannot be afforded at any other setting.

Dr Joynt recommended that Mr McGowan be returned to the CMH, where he will be further reviewed at regular intervals, and confirmed that there is a bed available for him there.  

Mr Justice McDermott said Dr Joynt had given the opinion that failure to detain the defendant would lead to a serious deterioration in his treatment.

The judge committed Mr McGowan to the CMH under the provisions of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 to continue his treatment until an order is "ultimately made in the future" under section 13 of the act, when his "condition hopefully improves".

Mr Justice McDermott called it a "very difficult and traumatic case" for the McGowan family. The judge also referenced the trial and the jurors hearing how this "terrible tragedy had unfolded". He said he could only wish Mr McGowan well in the future and extended his sympathy to the family.

On February 12 last, Mr McGowan's defence counsel Michael Bowman SC told the trial jury that it was a "particularly tragic" case, as a father's paternal instinct had driven him to prioritise his son's well-being above his own, with fatal consequences.

In his closing speech, prosecutor Mr Grehan said John McGowan had left the safety of his home in Connecticut and flown to Ireland "without even stopping to drop a bag".

After arriving in Ireland, the successful Wall Street trader went straight to the Mater hospital and embraced his son, effectively taking custody of him, Mr Grehan said. Counsel said the father and son had retreated to Ballyfin and tragically the deceased, who had come on "a mission of mercy to help his son", ended up dead.

The reality of these cases, the barrister had told the trial jury, is that it is often those closest to a person who develops an active mental illness that are "most at danger".

The three-day Central Criminal Court trial heard that Henry McGowan was the youngest of five children in a family of Irish heritage. The defendant's mother was a curator in an art gallery and his father John was a successful Wall Street trader.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks said that the defendant told him he had smoked a lot of weed in high school during his mid teens but stopped doing so by the age of 20.

The trial heard that Henry McGowan first fell under the care of psychiatric professionals with an involuntary admission to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York in January, 2022. It was there that Mr McGowan's first "manic episode" was recorded, where psychosis was observed along with depression and suicidal ideation.

Two months later, Henry McGowan was involuntarily admitted to the Sainte-Anne psychiatric hospital in Paris for four weeks. The trial heard he had suffered persistent paranoid delusions on a flight from the US, where he had attempted to seize an infant in a bassinet.

The trial heard Henry McGowan had lunged at the infant's family while under the delusional belief that their child needed to be sacrificed to protect the plane. Henry McGowan had to be restrained by passengers on the flight and was arrested on his arrival at a Paris airport.

John McGowan travelled to Paris in March 2022 in the days after Henry's admission to assist his son as best he could with his return. The defendant was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder following this incident.

Evidence was given that Henry McGowan took another trip to Europe in October, 2024. In the lead-up to strangling his father, the defendant described experiencing impulsive behaviour such as buying a "conspicuous pink coat" in Harrods in London and renting a Lamborghini in Paris.

The trial also heard that the defendant said he had earned 4.5 million dollars from his last job, with the court hearing that his money has now been placed in a trust.

Henry McGowan was interviewed on four occasions, telling gardai that he had grabbed his father by the chest and pushed him hard, before strangling him on a bathroom floor with his bare hands. He said he had told his father that he would "always love him as he had his last breath".

The defendant had described the killing in detail, telling detectives: "I counted to 49 and when I got to 49 he was breathing and had a pulse. I counted on 20 seconds longer and he stopped. He kept gasping for air, I would not let go".

The defendant continued, saying: "I was seething and physically tired..once he hit his head and was on the ground he wasn't resisting. I then put a full fist into his throat using my full force. I pushed down with both hands on his Adam's apple but he kept breathing. I then put full force on his throat with my knuckles.... It was shocking how long it took. I say it took in the region of eight minutes".

Mr McGowan later told Dr Monks that on the day of the killing, he had feelings of his father not being his real father and described delusional ideas where his father was an imposter. The defendant said: "I thought it like I was ordained by God to kill my father, like he was a source of evil".