A Dublin man who was suffering from a severe relapse of schizoaffective disorder when he killed his girlfriend has been found not guilty of her murder by reason of insanity.
The Central Criminal Court jury on Wednesday accepted the evidence given by consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ronan Mullaney, for the defence, that Austin Mangan was unable to refrain from committing the killing of Maud Coffey and therefore met the criteria for the special verdict.
UK consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Richard Church, for the State, had also testified that there was “no question” but that the defendant had a lifetime of significant mental illness. The expert witness said Mr Mangan had told him he had been admitted to mental health services on 30 occasions – “sometimes at six-month intervals during his life”.
However, the jurors rejected Dr Church’s finding that although Mr Mangan was suffering from a mental disorder which diminished his responsibility for the act, he did not qualify for a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict because he was able to refrain from the killing.
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Mr Mangan (53), with a previous address at Hollybank Road in Drumcondra but more recently of the Beaumont area of Dublin, had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Ms Coffey (41) at the Horizon Building in Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, Dublin 15, on January 13th, 2023.
At the outset of the trial, the defence made formal admissions to the court on behalf of the defendant, including that Mr Mangan killed Ms Coffey.
In his closing speech, Patrick Gageby SC, defending, called the case “one of the saddest to be laid before a jury”. He said Ms Coffey was a kind and quiet woman, who was “subjected to a frenzied attack in her own home with every weapon available”.
Counsel said it was beyond doubt that Mr Mangan, who had a very long psychiatric history and a long-standing history of resisting medication, had killed his girlfriend; “He told everyone who would listen to him – and those who didn’t want to listen.”
The trial heard that Ms Coffey had developed significant mental health issues of her own and had spent two weeks in a specialist wing of Connolly Memorial Hospital before discharging herself two days before her death on January 11th, 2023.
Mr Mangan told gardaí he had killed his girlfriend Ms Coffey and had referred to “the devil, the Bible and to the killing of Lucifer”, which the defence referred to as an “unstoppable torrent coming out of his mouth”.
In his closing address, Brendan Grehan SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, submitted that there had been “an element of overkill” in terms of what had happened to Ms Coffey.
Counsel said a black flex which appeared to be from a vacuum cleaner was found tightly wrapped around the deceased’s neck and she had been slashed across the throat and other parts of the body with a large knife.
He submitted that both expert witnesses in the case were in agreement that Mr Mangan had a long-standing mental health history, interacting with “a whole gallery of doctors” from when he was 18 years old.
Mr Grehan said the jurors had heard from two of Ms Coffey’s sisters, who had spoken in positive terms of the couple’s relationship and Mr Mangan’s kindness towards Maud. “There didn’t appear to be any red flags that she might in fact be in danger,” he stressed, adding that the defendant had been making plans to propose marriage to Ms Coffey.
The jury of seven men and five women spent seven hours and 23 minutes deliberating over two days before bringing in a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
After they had delivered their verdict, Mr Justice Paul Burns thanked the jury for their service, saying the evidence in the case had been particularly harrowing.
The judge exempted them from jury service for the next seven years.
The judge said he was required to commit Mr Mangan to the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) for inpatient care, which is a specified designated centre, for a period of 13 days.
Mr Justice Burns then made an order committing the defendant to the CMH on Wednesday, with his return before the court scheduled for Friday.
The judge also directed the preparation of a psychiatric assessment by an approved medical officer at the CMH to see whether Mr Mangan needs inpatient care there.
Mr Gageby told the judge that “in the ordinary course” of events, victim-impact evidence would not be heard. However, he said that despite the acquittal, the defence had no objection to victim-impact evidence being given on Friday.
Mr Justice Burns said he was sure that this would be very helpful for Ms Coffey’s family and directed the preparation of a victim-impact statement for Friday.
