The father of Robert O’Connor, who is accused of murdering his parents and younger brother, who had special needs, reported to a social worker a decade ago that he had “serious concerns” for his family’s safety and thought they “could be killed in the future”, a psychiatrist has told the Central Criminal Court.
The trial also heard that the accused was considered appropriate for detention by mental health services in 2014 after he threatened to kill his parents.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Fiona Toal, called to give evidence by the defence, also told the trial that the accused was experiencing a relapse of schizophrenia when he fatally stabbed the three members of his family and did not know what he was doing was wrong.
The expert witness found that the accused meets the criteria for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006.
From her engagements with O’Connor, the witness found the accused had very clear psychiatric symptoms, had bizarre beliefs regarding his parents and thought they were impostors who controlled his thoughts. The accused also told her he thought his brother Evan was controlling him on an iPad on the night of the fatal attack.
Robert O’Connor, of Drumgowna, Louth Village, Dundalk, Co Louth, has pleaded not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, or guilty of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility to the triple murder of his mother, Louise (56), his father, Mark (54), and his younger brother Evan (27) at their home between September 28th and 29th, 2025, both dates inclusive.
The Central Criminal Court jury has been told that the accused accepts he caused the deaths of the three victims, who had sustained a combined 139 stab wounds.
In her evidence, Toal told solicitor Michael Bowman, defending, that her and the State’s psychiatrist’s conclusions are “incredibly aligned”, with both parties agreeing that diminished responsibility is made out for the three deaths.
Toal said both psychiatrists agree that the accused suffered a relapse of schizophrenia in September 2025. She said the symptoms were probably present for many years before this.
The witness said the accused started smoking cannabis at 13 years old and this later progressed to cocaine, which caused significant arguments at home. He spent time in a drug rehabilitation facility at 17 years old and intermittently engaged with drugs and alcohol services.
O’Connor was assessed by a psychiatrist at 19 years old, where he reported feeling increasingly paranoid and anxious. The accused’s symptoms were attributed to drug psychosis and social anxiety, for which he was prescribed antipsychotic medication.
In 2014, the witness said O’Connor went to a psychiatrist after reporting feelings he wanted to hurt and hit out at people at certain times. She said the accused was considered appropriate for being detained by mental health services in March 2014 after he threatened to kill his parents. He applied to be admitted as an involuntary patient but, as he had taken LSD the week before, there was an impression of drug-induced psychosis.
Toal said notes indicated that the accused’s parents were very concerned for their own safety. O’Connor continued to describe paranoid delusions about his parents and was put on quite a high dose of antipsychotics. In another review, on March 31st, 2014, the accused denied having continuing paranoid thoughts, accepted his symptoms were drug-related and was discharged.
Toal said a discharge note written by a social worker communicating with Mark O’Connor had documented “very, very significant family concerns”. Mark O’Connor reported that his son had been depressed for two years and was hearing voices for the previous 18 months. He expressed “serious concerns” for his family’s safety and “there was an indication that they could be killed in the future.”
Toal said the accused’s mother reported her son’s extreme moods, aggression and talking to himself in 2018.
Robert O’Connor was formally diagnosed with schizophrenia at the end of 2018 and was started on stronger antipsychotic medication.
She said O’Connor was last reviewed by a psychiatrist in August 2025 and denied any psychotic symptoms. The impression was his illness was stable, he was put on a newer drug and scheduled for an outpatient review.
The witness said at the time of the killing O’Connor was under the care of a mental health team. She said the accused reported that he stopped taking his medication in August 2025 and, in the 24 hours before the killing, the accused reported taking cocaine mixed with mephedrone.
She said the accused is on a waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital.
In conclusion, the witness said the accused’s psychotic symptoms presented early in life and were initially attributed to drug use. She said substance abuse disorder is extremely common in schizophrenic patients. She said the real point of difference between her opinion and that of Dr Ronan Mullaney, for the prosecution, was in what way they found the mental disorder affected the accused’s thinking and behaviour at the time of the offence.
Toal found the accused did know the nature and quality of the act. However, she said the accused’s thinking was extremely disordered in the context of experiencing a resurgence of delusions he had held for 15 years.
She also found that Robert O’Connor was not in control of his functioning and his understanding of reality was “warped”.
The trial continues on Monday before Judge Mícheál P O’Higgins and a jury of six men and six women.