Ireland Case No. 3842Murder · Co. Laois · 12 Nov 2024
Henry McGowan found not guilty of murdering father at Ballyfin Demesne by reason of insanity
Henry McGowan, 31, was found unanimously not guilty of murder by reason of insanity at the Central Criminal Court after strangling his father John McGowan, 66, at Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Portlaoise, Co Laois, on 12 November 2024. Judge Paul McDermott committed him to the Central Mental Hospital.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court9 Feb
4 reports - Acquitted12 Feb
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports74 statements extracted from the articles
- whatBallyfin Demesne is a five-star hotel (irishmirror.ie)
- whatHenry McGowan is 31 and has an address at Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe victim John McGowan was 66 years old. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHenry McGowan is a US national. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHenry McGowan strangled his father with his bare hands in a cubicle off the swimming pool. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe told his father he would always love him as he had his last breath. (irishtimes.com)
- whatBoth men left the hospital at 3:40pm and took a taxi to Ballyfin Demesne. (irishtimes.com)
- whatA staff member observed Henry walking along the poolside naked. (irishtimes.com)
- whatJohn was found lying on the ground with his body and upper head covered with a robe and a pool of blood. (irishtimes.com)
- whatTwo staff members performed CPR but John was pronounced dead by a doctor. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHenry told gardaí he killed who he thought was not his father, hit his head against the wall and strangled him. (irishtimes.com)
- whatExpert psychiatrists for both prosecution and defence agreed Henry was experiencing a relapse of schizoaffective disorder. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHenry was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2022 and has no previous convictions. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHenry graduated from the University of Virginia and worked for a technology firm. (irishtimes.com)
- whatJohn McGowan was a successful businessman who worked on the New York Stock Exchange. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHenry was on and off his antipsychotic medication. (irishtimes.com)
- whatJohn told doctors his son had been hypomanic for six months and he came to Ireland because he was concerned Henry was manic. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHenry McGowan is accused of murdering his father John McGowan. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatJohn McGowan was 66 years old at the time of his death. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatHenry McGowan is 31 years old. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatJohn McGowan travelled to Ireland from the US to look after his son. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe accused strangled his father with his bare hands in a changing area off the pool. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe accused put a full fist into his father's throat. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatProfessor Gautam Gulati told the trial the defendant was suffering from schizoaffective disorder. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatProf Gulati said the defendant fulfils the criteria for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe mental illness is characterised by elated and depressed mood, delusions, misidentification, paranoia and grandiosity. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe accused had an abnormal mental state leading up to the offence and was suffering from an acute psychotic episode. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDr Stephen Monks told the trial the accused was experiencing a relapse of schizoaffective disorder when he strangled his father. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDr Monks found the accused did not know the nature or quality of the act. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDr Monks found the accused did not know what he was doing was wrong. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDr Monks found the accused could not refrain from committing the act. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatDr Monks found the accused met the criteria for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe murder took place at Ballyfin Demesne, Ballyfin, Portlaoise, Co Laois (irishmirror.ie)
- whereHenry McGowan has an address at Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe murder took place at the five-star Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Co Laois. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe murder took place at Ballyfin Demesne, a five-star hotel in Ballyfin, Portlaoise, Co Laois. (irishtimes.com)
- whereHenry McGowan has an address at Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York, in the United States. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe killing took place at Ballyfin Demesne, Ballyfin, Portlaoise, Co Laois. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe murder occurred on 12 November 2024 (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
- whenHenry arrived at Dublin Airport from London shortly before 11pm on 11 November 2024. (irishtimes.com)
- whenJohn McGowan arrived at Dublin Airport from New York on 12 November 2024. (irishtimes.com)
- whenGardaí arrived at the hotel around 8:15pm. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe strangulation occurred just over an hour after arriving at Ballyfin Demesne. (irishmirror.ie)
- causeThe cause of death was asphyxia due to manual strangulation and compression of the mouth. (irishtimes.com)
- weaponMcGowan strangled his father on a bathroom floor with his bare hands. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationHenry was interviewed on four occasions by gardaí. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí interviewed McGowan four times. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHenry McGowan is charged with the single charge of murder (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeMcGowan pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder charge. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeMcGowan pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of his father. (irishtimes.com)
- courtHenry McGowan pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (irishmirror.ie)
- courtHenry McGowan was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe case will traverse issues related to mental health (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe prosecution case is being led by senior counsel Brendan Grehan (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMichael Bowman SC and Olan Callanan BL are heading the defence team (irishmirror.ie)
- courtA jury of six men and six women was sworn in (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is due to begin before Mr Justice Paul McDermott (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is expected to last three days (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMcGowan was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court on a single charge of murder. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe prosecution is led by barrister Brendan Grehan. (irishtimes.com)
- courtDefending barristers are Michael Bowman and Olan Callanan. (irishtimes.com)
- courtA jury of six men and six women was sworn in to hear the trial. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is due to begin on Tuesday before Judge Paul McDermott and is expected to last three days. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe 12 jurors brought in a unanimous verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial took three days at the Central Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceJudge Paul McDermott committed McGowan to the Central Mental Hospital. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMcGowan was suffering from schizoaffective disorder at the time of the killing. (irishtimes.com)
- otherAfter arriving in Ireland, John McGowan went to the Mater Hospital and embraced his son. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMcGowan was first involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital in New York in January 2022. (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Paris for four weeks after paranoid delusions on a flight. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMcGowan was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder following the Paris incident. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMcGowan described delusional ideas that his father was an imposter and not his real father. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMcGowan was the youngest of five children in a family of Irish heritage. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMcGowan smoked a lot of weed during his mid-teens but stopped by age 20. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 12 Feb2026Man found not guilty of murdering father at Ballyfin Demesne by reason of insanity
Verdict delivered: unanimous not guilty by reason of insanity after 1 hour 23 minutes deliberation; committed to Central Mental Hospital; three-day trial at Central Criminal Court.
victim, John McGowan, 66, male, non-irish (judged from name)John McGowanaccused, Henry McGowan, 31, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Henry McGowan - 12 Feb2026American accused of murdering his dad lunged at family during flight
Second prosecution psychiatrist (Prof Gautam Gulati) testifies on schizoaffective disorder and insanity criteria; evidence of 2022 incident on a flight to Paris where McGowan lunged at a family; defence psychiatrist Dr Monks' earlier findings summarised; trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott.
accused, Henry McGowan, 31, male, American, named, non-irishHenry McGowanvictim, John McGowan, 66, male, American, non-irishJohn McGowan - 10 Feb2026US man told father he would ‘always love him’ as he strangled him at Ballyfin Demesne, court hears
Opening of the prosecution's case at the Central Criminal Court; details the sequence of events on the day of the killing, the accused's mental state, his interviews with gardaí, and the cause of death.
victim, John McGowan, 66, male, irish (judged from name)John McGowanaccused, Henry McGowan, 31, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Henry McGowan - 9 Feb2026American pleads not guilty by reason of insanity to murder of father in hotel
Arraignment and plea entered at Central Criminal Court; trial set to begin the following day before Judge Paul McDermott, expected to last three days.
victim, John McGowan, 66, male, irish (judged from name)John McGowanaccused, Henry McGowan, 31, male, American, named, non-irishHenry McGowan - 9 Feb2026American pleads not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering his father
Reports the arraignment and plea at the Central Criminal Court, jury selection, and details of the trial including the judge, counsel and expected duration.
victim, John McGowan, 66, male, irish (judged from name)John McGowanaccused, Henry McGowan, 31, male, American, named, non-irishHenry McGowan