Robert O'Connor claimed he had killed three family members after a row about his drug taking, the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday. 

The 32-year-old man of Drumgowna, Dundalk, County Louth, appeared before the court charged with the murder of his parents and brother. 

He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to all charges or guilty of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney said the jury heard “some distressing details” yesterday. 

“He [Mr O'Connor] essentially accepts that he caused the deaths of his three family members, his parents, Louise and Mark, and his younger brother, Evan, at the family home in Drumgowna, County Louth, sometime between the 28th and the 29th of September last year,” Mr Greaney explained. 

“So, the issue for the jurors to consider over the coming weeks relates to his mental state at the time of the killings and whether he was legally responsible for his actions.”

The court was also given some insight into the case of the prosecution by barrister Roisin Lacey, who will argue that Mr O’Connor is guilty of murder. 

“She told the jurors that, in due course, they'd hear from neighbours of the O'Connors who reported shouting and screaming coming from the O'Connor family home on the evening before the bodies were found,” Mr Greaney described. 

“With one neighbour recalling hearing Robert, the accused man, shouting, ‘I'll end you, ‘I'll f*cking end you.’

“Another described seeing a man jumping up and down in the back garden.”

The jury will also hear evidence from the carer of Mr O’Connor’s younger brother, Evan. 

He was 26-years-old at the time of his death and severely autistic. 

“The carer arrived to pick him up and he didn't come out,” Mr Greaney said. 

“She got out of the car and discovered the body of his father, Mark O'Connor, at the entrance to the property. 

“This carer, who hasn't given evidence yesterday, is likely to take the stand in the early stage of the trial.” 

The jury will also hear from Gardaí who arrived at the scene and found a number of knives close to the bodies. 

They will also be told details of Mr O’Connor’s interview with Gardaí. 

“He claimed there had been an argument at the house about his drug use, that his parents had wanted him to stop taking cocaine,” Mr Greaney described. 

“He didn't want to stop taking drugs, he also spoke about seeing his father's reflection in his mother's face, claimed his brother's iPad was somehow affecting his reality. 

“And he told Gardaí during his Garda interviews that he was sorry for killing his mother, but not his father or his brother.”

The case is expected to last three weeks.

Main image: Louise, Mark and Evan O'Connor.