Ireland Case No. 4277Manslaughter (by reason of diminished responsibility) · Co. Cork · 22 Jan 2023
Dylan Magee found guilty of manslaughter of 88-year-old Matthew Healy at Mercy University Hospital, Cork
Dylan Magee, 33, was found guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility for the death of 88-year-old retired farmer Matthew Healy, who died of a heart attack after being punched over twenty times while asleep in his bed at Mercy University Hospital, Cork, on 22 January 2023. Magee was remanded in custody pending sentencing.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court16 Dec
3 reports - Convicted18 Dec
3 reports - Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports91 statements extracted from the articles
- whatMagee denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility (corkbeo.ie)
- whatBoth the victim and the accused were patients in the same hospital ward (corkbeo.ie)
- whatMagee's brother and aunt were concerned because he was hallucinating (corkbeo.ie)
- whatA toxicology screening showed cannabis and benzodiazepines in Magee's system (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whatMagee was assigned a bed opposite Matthew Healy (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe care assistant saw Magee punch Healy a number of times in the head with his right hand (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe nurse broke his finger trying to hold Magee back (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whatMagee said the victim cannibalised children and spoke about fire (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whatBoth prosecution and defence psychiatrists agreed that any substances Magee took before admission were eliminated from his system by the time of the attack (corkbeo.ie)
- whatThe prosecution psychiatrist said Magee knew the act was wrong and potentially fatal but was unable to refrain from committing it (corkbeo.ie)
- whatMagee pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility but denied murder (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBoth men were patients in the same hospital ward (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMagee's brother and aunt were concerned about him as he was hallucinating (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMagee had had Covid the previous week (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMagee had started anti-depressants the previous month (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMagee had suffered the bereavement of a family member the previous year (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMagee was described as hearing voices and seeing things that were not there (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBoth psychiatrists agreed that by the time of the attack any substances Magee took before admission were eliminated from his system (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDylan Magee denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter of Matthew Healy. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Healy was pronounced dead at 5.58am. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Magee told staff he had taken 60 Xanax bought online and tested positive for a chemical found in cannabis. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Healy's wife had died just ten days before his hospital admission. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Healy was admitted to MUH at 2.58am on 13 January 2023 after falling and passing out in his bedroom in Berrings, Mid-Cork. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Magee was admitted to MUH on 19 January 2023 after being referred by his GP. (irishtimes.com)
- whatSeveral doctors performed CPR on Mr Healy for 30 minutes. (irishtimes.com)
- whatProsecution and defence psychiatrists agreed that by the time of the attack, any substances Mr Magee took before admission were eliminated from his system. (irishtimes.com)
- whatDylan Magee was found guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility (irishtimes.com)
- whatMagee punched Mr Healy between four and six times in the face and struck him another three times (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Healy's wife Delia had died 11 days before the incident (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Healy was admitted to MUH on January 13, 2023, after falling out of bed and hitting his head at his house in Berrings, Cork (irishtimes.com)
- whatMagee was admitted to MUH on January 19, 2023, after being referred by his GP (irishtimes.com)
- whatMagee told staff he had taken 60 Xanax tablets and blood tests showed he tested positive for a chemical found in cannabis (irishtimes.com)
- whatNurse Dijo Augustine caught Magee by the T-shirt and broke his finger while trying to pull him back (irishtimes.com)
- whatMagee was having paranoid thoughts and hallucinations before his admission for suspected delirium (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe jury of eight men and four women took two hours and 33 minutes to reach the verdict (irishtimes.com)
- whatMagee had originally denied murder when arraigned on January 23, 2023, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility (irishtimes.com)
- whatMagee was found guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility (corkbeo.ie)
- whatHealy died of a heart attack in his bed (corkbeo.ie)
- whatThe two men were in the same hospital ward but did not know each other (corkbeo.ie)
- whatHealy's wife Delia had died earlier that month (corkbeo.ie)
- whatMagee was seeing dead people and hearing voices (corkbeo.ie)
- whatMagee was on anti-depressants for a month prior to admission (corkbeo.ie)
- whatMagee self-medicated with cannabis and claimed to have taken 120 benzodiazepines in the week before admission (corkbeo.ie)
- whatA hospital toxicology screening showed morphine in Magee's system (corkbeo.ie)
- whatHealy was a father of four and a grandfather of eight (corkbeo.ie)
- whatThe Healy couple were predeceased by their daughter Christine who drowned as a young child (corkbeo.ie)
- whatThe two men were placed in the same hospital ward but were not known to each other. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMatthew Healy went into hospital on 13 January 2023 after suffering a fall at his home. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMatthew Healy's wife Delia had died earlier that month. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDylan Magee was admitted to hospital on 19 January 2023 in a hallucinatory state, seeing dead people and hearing voices. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMr Magee was on anti-depressants for a month prior to his hospital admission. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMr Magee had self-medicated with cannabis and claimed to have taken 120 benzodiazepines in the week before admission. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatA hospital toxicology screening showed morphine in Mr Magee's system. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMr Magee said a traveller had been tormenting people on the hospital ward. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatIn a Garda interview on 23 January 2023, Mr Magee was talking to the wall instead of the investigating officers. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMr Magee was of Churchfield Green, Churchfield in Cork, and was a father of three. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatProsecution psychiatrist Dr Richard Church said Mr Magee was very severely impaired to the point of being unable to refrain from acting as he did. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe trial is being held at the Central Criminal Court in Cork (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe victim was from Berrings, Co. Cork (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe attack took place at Mercy University Hospital in Cork. (irishtimes.com, corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe killing took place in Mercy University Hospital, Cork (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe Healy family home was in Berrings, Co Cork. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenMatthew Healy was admitted to MUH via ambulance on 13 January 2023 after falling out of bed at his home (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whenDylan Magee presented to the hospital on 19 January 2023 (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- whenA sedative was given to Magee at 11pm and 12:10am on the night of the incident (corkbeo.ie)
- whenThe attack occurred at 5:15am on 22 January 2023 (corkbeo.ie)
- whenA sedative was given to Magee at 11pm and 12.10am on the night of 21 January (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe nurse left the room to call a doctor at 5.15am on 22 January 2023 (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe attack occurred at approximately 5.15am on 22 January 2023. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe attack occurred at around 5.15am on the morning of January 22, 2023 (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe attack occurred on 22 January 2023 (corkbeo.ie)
- whenHealy was admitted to hospital on 13 January 2023 after a fall at home (corkbeo.ie)
- whenMagee was admitted to hospital on 19 January 2023 in a hallucinatory state (corkbeo.ie)
- whenThe incident occurred on 22 January 2023. (irishmirror.ie)
- causeThe Assistant State Pathologist would testify that Healy suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of injuries sustained in the ward (corkbeo.ie)
- causeThe Assistant State Pathologist is to testify that Healy suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of injuries sustained in the ward (irishmirror.ie)
- causeMr Healy suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of injuries sustained. (irishtimes.com)
- causeMr Healy died of cardiac arrest as a consequence of traumatic injuries to the brain and spinal cord complicated by aspiration of blood due to blunt force trauma to the face and head (irishtimes.com)
- chargeMr Magee had denied murder but admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is being heard at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork before a jury of eight men and four women. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe verdict was delivered at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe case was listed for mention on January 12th when Magee is to appear by video link (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe jury took two hours and 33 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict after a three-day trial (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial was heard at the Central Criminal Court in Cork (corkbeo.ie)
- courtMs Justice Siobhan Lankford presided over the trial (corkbeo.ie)
- courtMagee was remanded in custody for sentencing at a later date (corkbeo.ie)
- courtThe case was put in for mention on 12 January to set a date for sentence (corkbeo.ie)
- courtThe jury was excused from jury service for five years (corkbeo.ie, irishmirror.ie)
- courtDylan Magee was found guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility at the Central Criminal Court in Cork. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMr Magee was remanded in custody for sentencing at a later date. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe case was put in for mention on 12 January 2026 to set a date for sentence. (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 18 Dec2025Man found guilty of manslaughter of 88-year-old hospital patient
Reports the guilty verdict at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, details of the trial evidence including the accused's hallucinatory state and the attack, and the remand for sentencing with a mention date of 12 January 2026.
victim, Matthew Healy, 88, male, irish (judged from name)Matthew Healyconvicted, Dylan Magee, 33, male, named, irish (judged from name)Dylan Magee - 18 Dec2025Man found guilty of manslaughter of 88-year-old Cork hospital patient
Verdict delivered at Central Criminal Court in Cork after a three-day trial; sentencing to be set at a later date with victim impact statements and a probation report to be prepared.
victim, Matthew Healy, 88, male, irish (judged from name)Matthew Healyconvicted, Dylan Magee, 33, male, named, irish (judged from name)Dylan Magee - 18 Dec2025Cork hospital killing: Man found guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility
Jury of 12 found Magee not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility after a three-day trial. He was remanded in custody; sentencing listed for 12 January by video link.
victim, Matthew Healy, 88, male, irish (judged from name)Matthew Healyconvicted, Dylan Magee, 33, male, named, irish (judged from name)Dylan Magee - 16 Dec2025Cork hospital murder accused shouted ‘this man ate my son’, court hears
Reports the arraignment and opening evidence at the Central Criminal Court trial, including Det Garda Michelle Quinn's account of the attack, psychiatric assessments, and the defence of delirium.
victim, Matthew Healy, 88, male, irish (judged from name)Matthew Healyaccused, Dylan Magee, 33, male, named, irish (judged from name)Dylan Magee - 16 Dec2025Man accused of murdering 88 year-old fellow patient as he lay in hospital bed
Trial opened at the Central Criminal Court in Cork; prosecution Senior Counsel Jane Hyland outlined the evidence including the care assistant's account of the attack, toxicology results, and competing psychiatric opinions on diminished responsibility.
victim, Matthew Healy, 88, male, irish (judged from name)Matthew Healyaccused, Dylan Magee, 33, male, named, irish (judged from name)Dylan Magee - 16 Dec2025Man denies murdering 88-year-old patient at Cork hospital
Trial opened at Central Criminal Court in Cork; prosecution Senior Counsel Jane Hyland outlined the evidence including the care assistant's account of the attack, toxicology results, and competing psychiatric opinions on diminished responsibility. The case continues.
victim, Matthew Healy, 88, male, irish (judged from name)Matthew Healyaccused, Dylan Magee, 33, male, named, irish (judged from name)Dylan Magee