"Hours later, Henry McGowan, a 31-year-old data analyst from New York with a history of manic disturbance, violently killed his father. At his trial for murder this week, Henry pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, a plea that was accepted by the jury. The court was told that during a psychotic episode he strangled his father, the person who had come to save him from himself, in a changing-room cubicle at the five-star Ballyfin Demesne in Co Laois."
"Evidence of Henry McGowan's erratic lifestyle in the lead-up alluded to his impulsive state of mind. He rented a Lamborghini in Paris, bought a pink fur coat in Harrods in London, and booked into the €1,000-a-night room in Ballyfin Demesne. A picture of privilege and affluence was painted. Henry McGowan came from a wealthy background - his father was a Wall Street trader and his mother was an art collector."
John McGowan traveled from the US intending to watch over his mentally ill son Henry and planned to stay overnight before seeking hospital care the next morning. Hours later, during a psychotic episode, 31-year-old Henry McGowan strangled his father in a changing-room cubicle at the five-star Ballyfin Demesne. Henry told gardaí he believed he was on a mission from God inside a videogame-style alternative reality. Evidence showed erratic, impulsive behavior and a privileged lifestyle. Henry came from a wealthy family with access to private psychiatric care. A jury accepted his not guilty by reason of insanity plea, and the family lost two loved ones.
Read at Irish Independent
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