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Man found not guilty by reason of insanity of mother's murder

A 32-year-old man who stabbed his mother to death in Dublin last year has been found not gui...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.01 6 Dec 2016


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Man found not guilty by reason...

Man found not guilty by reason of insanity of mother's murder

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.01 6 Dec 2016


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A 32-year-old man who stabbed his mother to death in Dublin last year has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The court heard Fionn Braidwood was suffering from an acute mental disorder when he attacked her at their home at Clarinda Park in Dun Laoghaire.

Jane Braidwood, a 65-year-old psychiatrist, died after being stabbed three times in the chest by her son on January 20th last year.

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He attacked her with a long, sharp kitchen knife after she told him she thought it was a bad idea for him to go to Australia.

He also assaulted his sister and a passerby when they tried to intervene.

The court heard he had a history of mental illness and had been in and out of psychiatric units.

In 2007, he was admitted after becoming obsessed with the Nazis and World War II.

Dr Brenda Wright, a forensic psychiatrist, said it was her view that he was suffering a relapse of paranoid schizophrenia when he stabbed his mother and would have been unable stop himself.

This was a view shared by both the prosecution and his defence.

The jury returned with the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity after just 32 minutes of deliberations.

Mr Braidwood will now be assessed in the Central Mental Hospital before a decision on the best treatment for him is made.


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