A man has been found not guilty by reason of insanity of murdering his neighbour in Mourne Park, Skerries in Co. Dublin three years ago.

Medical experts told the jurors that Dragos Nica was experiencing an acute episode of schizophrenia when he stabbed Michael Gannon to death.

The 55-year-old had been preparing a meal for his grandchildren when he was attacked after answering the front door of his daughter’s home.

Mr. Nica said he’d been in a relationship with his victim’s daughter and told Gardai he killed him because she’d “zapped” him with a poison.

During the trial Mr Nica admitted that while looking in the victim's daughter's sitting room window that day, he thought about killing her children too. The children were five and nine at the time.

He said he planned on going on a rampage because he wanted to kill as many people as he could, but that his anger left him after the stabbing.

The court heard the children were in the front room when their grandfather fell back into the corridor, and that Mr. Nica was worried they might have seen what happened.