Man who killed family found guilty of manslaughter

A 32-year-old man has been found not guilty of the murders of three members of his family but guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility by the unanimous verdicts of a Central Criminal Court jury.

Robert O'Connor, of Drumgowna, Louth Village, Dundalk, Co Louth, attacked and stabbed to death his 56-year-old mother Louise, his father Mark, 54, and his 27-year-old brother Evan at their home between 28 and 29 September 2025.

He stabbed his father 44 times, his mother at least 20 times and his brother over 70 times.

He told gardaí that he attacked them after they spoke to him about his cocaine use and that his mother had asked him to let his brother Evan go.

The Central Criminal Court jury was told that Robert O'Connor accepts he caused the deaths of the three victims, who had sustained a combined 139 stab wounds, but that the "battleground" between the prosecution and defence in the trial was whether Robert O'Connor was insane at the time.

Two psychiatrists who gave evidence in the trial agreed that the 32-year-old was suffering from a relapse of schizophrenia when he fatally stabbed the three members of his family.

However, whilst both expert witnesses are of the view that guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility under Section 6 of the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006 would be an appropriate verdict, they differ on whether the accused qualifies for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Fiona Toal testified for the defence that Robert O’Connor did not know what he was doing was wrong and could not refrain from committing the act.

She found that he met the criteria for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

However, consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ronan Mullaney gave evidence for the prosecution that Robert met the criteria for a verdict of guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility but did not meet the criteria for the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Mr Justice Mícheál P O'Higgins said this had been a "sad and difficult case" for the jury to deal with.

"One could not but be shocked and revulsed by the killings of the family members of the O'Connor family and one could not but have the deepest of sympathy for the deceased' family members and for Cian O'Connor, the surviving brother, as well as for close relatives and friends," he said.

The jury deliberated for four hours and eight minutes over the past two days before returning the verdict.