Case No. 1949Murder · Co. Kildare · 28 Apr 2020
Psychiatrist tells murder trial anger and resentment could explain fatal assault on Peter Kennedy
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Mary Davoren told the Central Criminal Court jury that anger and resentment could explain why Brian Ibe, 23, fatally assaulted 65-year-old Peter Kennedy in Newbridge, Co Kildare, in April 2020, and that there was no evidence of psychosis at the time of the offence, contradicting the defence's schizophrenia diagnosis.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court18 Mar
6 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports80 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe accused is 24 years old (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe victim Peter Kennedy was 65 years old (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe mother of the accused, Martha Ibe, had an issue with homelessness and came to live with Mr Kennedy (irishtimes.com)
- whatProblems arose prior to Christmas of 2019, with disputes between Mr Kennedy and the accused (irishtimes.com)
- whatWhen gardaí arrived they found Mr Kennedy on the floor upstairs with serious head injuries lying in a pool of blood (irishtimes.com)
- whatBrian Ibe pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Peter Kennedy (irishtimes.com)
- whatMartha Ibe and her son Brian Ibe moved in with Peter Kennedy (irishtimes.com)
- whatKennedy told a friend that Martha Ibe was homeless and had been living in her car outside his house (irishtimes.com)
- whatKennedy went to the Gardaí to get Ibe out and was changing the locks on his house (irishtimes.com)
- whatIbe would burst into Kennedy's room while he was asleep and shout for money (irishtimes.com)
- whatIbe threatened to kill Kennedy on two occasions (irishtimes.com)
- whatIbe said he would slit Kennedy's throat (irishtimes.com)
- whatBrian Ibe was brought in to be questioned on suspicion of assaulting 65-year-old Peter Kennedy the previous evening. (irishtimes.com)
- whatPeter Kennedy suffered stab wounds and died in Beaumont Hospital on 12 May 2020. (irishtimes.com)
- whatAfter Ibe's first interview, his period of detention was extended by six hours. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThree detectives went to the interview room to take fingerprint and DNA samples from Ibe. (irishtimes.com)
- whatO'Donnell received a punch into the face, just under his left eye and to the side of his nose. (irishtimes.com)
- whatO'Donnell had no fractures but had bruises on his nose and under his eye and was in pain for days. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe defence concedes that the injuries described by the garda are descriptive of harm. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIt is not contested that Ibe carried out the attack and that Kennedy died as a result. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIbe's mother Martha Ibe had an issue with homelessness and came to live with Kennedy. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIbe moved into the same house around September 2019 when he was 19. (irishtimes.com)
- whatProblems arose before Christmas 2019 with disputes between Kennedy and Ibe, so Ibe left and came to Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
- whatGardaí found Kennedy on the floor upstairs with serious head injuries lying in a pool of blood. (irishtimes.com)
- whatDr Ashdad Ahmad examined Ibe after the assault on O'Donnell and found him not fit for interview. (irishtimes.com)
- whatDuring interviews, Ibe said he was not in Newbridge on the day of the assault on Kennedy. (irishtimes.com)
- whatGarda O'Donnell testified that Ibe punched him during detention, leaving him with a bloody nose and a bruise under his eye. (irishtimes.com)
- whatDr Davoren believed anger and resentment could explain the fatal assault (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Kennedy had previously called gardaí to have Mr Ibe removed from his home (irishtimes.com)
- whatDr Davoren said Mr Ibe had a dissocial personality disorder, not a mental disorder qualifying for not guilty by reason of insanity (irishtimes.com)
- whatThere was no evidence Mr Ibe was suffering hallucinations or other symptoms of psychosis around the time of the offence (irishtimes.com)
- whatThere was evidence Mr Ibe was regularly smoking cannabis (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Ibe broke into the house by smashing a window (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Kennedy died from his injuries in hospital two weeks later on May 12 (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Ibe had to leave after he became aggressive and threatened his host (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Kennedy fell to the floor and Mr Ibe started kicking him before leaving (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe went to a nearby railway station, took a train to Heuston station, Dublin, and walked to the hostel (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe lied to gardaí, telling them he had not been to Newbridge the previous day and that he had only met Mr Kennedy once (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe denied knowledge of the assault and suggested his mother could be lying when she told gardaí she saw him stabbing Mr Kennedy (irishtimes.com)
- whatIn Garda custody, he declined to give a DNA sample or to allow gardaí to take his fingerprints, became aggressive and punched a garda (irishtimes.com)
- whereBrian Ibe is of no fixed abode and formerly of Moore Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe murder occurred in Newbridge (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe assault on Garda O'Donnell occurred at Newbridge Garda Station (irishtimes.com)
- whereIbe is of no fixed abode and formerly of Moore Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare (irishtimes.com)
- whereIbe left the house and resided at a hostel run by the Peter McVerry Trust in Walkinstown, Dublin (irishtimes.com)
- whereIbe lived at a hostel run by the Peter McVerry Trust in Walkinstown, Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe murder occurred between April 28 and May 12, 2020, both dates inclusive (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe assault on Garda O'Donnell occurred on or about April 29, 2020 (irishtimes.com)
- whenOn April 28th, 2020, the accused left the hostel and got a taxi to Newbridge (irishtimes.com)
- whenHe was brought to Beaumont Hospital but died from his injuries on May 12th, 2020 (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe prosecution says there is no contest that Ibe assaulted Kennedy on 28 April 2020. (irishtimes.com)
- whenPeter Kennedy died from his injuries in hospital about two weeks later, on 12 May 2020. (irishtimes.com)
- causeThe cause of death was traumatic head injuries (irishtimes.com)
- weaponHe used the rock to smash a window and climbed through, picking up a shard of glass (irishtimes.com)
- weaponHe used a shard of glass, about eight inches long, to stab Mr Kennedy three or four times (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA portion of the footage showed the accused at the hostel in Walkinstown picking up an object from a kitchen drawer that appeared to be a knife (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA later portion of CCTV footage from a residence at Moore Park contained audio of the sound of breaking glass (irishtimes.com)
- investigationDr Davoren interviewed Mr Ibe while he was on remand awaiting trial (irishtimes.com)
- investigationWhen Mr Ibe spoke to gardaí 24 hours later, he did not report any hallucinations and gave coherent answers (irishtimes.com)
- chargeBrian Ibe, 24, is charged with the murder of Peter Kennedy in Co Kildare (irishtimes.com)
- chargeIbe pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Mr Kennedy between April 28th and May 12th, 2020, in Newbridge (irishtimes.com)
- chargeIbe pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Kennedy between 28 April and 12 May 2020. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeMr Ibe has pleaded not guilty to murder of Mr Kennedy by reason of insanity (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is being held at the Central Criminal Court (irishtimes.com)
- courtMs Justice Melanie Greally is presiding over the trial (irishtimes.com)
- courtA jury of 12 was sworn in (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is expected to last two weeks with the possibility of extending slightly (irishtimes.com)
- courtProsecution expert witnesses include consultant psychiatrist Dr Mary Davoren and clinical psychologist Dr Kevin Lambe (irishtimes.com)
- courtGarda witnesses from Newbridge, Kildare, Athy, Rathangan, Portlaoise, Tallaght and Naas will give evidence (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial was set to begin the following morning at 11:30am (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial commenced at the Central Criminal Court on Wednesday 19 March 2025 (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial continues before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and a jury of six men and six women (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is at the Central Criminal Court and continues on Tuesday (irishtimes.com)
- courtDr Marie English, a clinical psychologist at the Central Mental Hospital, gave evidence in the trial. (irishtimes.com)
- courtDr Mary Davoren told the Central Criminal Court on Wednesday about the case (irishtimes.com)
- otherChris Pender, a county councillor in Newbridge, helped find emergency accommodation for Ibe (irishtimes.com)
- otherA defence psychiatrist told the trial that Ibe was undergoing a psychosis due to schizophrenia at the time of the offence. (irishtimes.com)
- otherIbe was accepted as a patient by the Central Mental Hospital in 2023, having been on the waiting list since 2020. (irishtimes.com)
- otherIbe is of no fixed abode but formerly of Moore Park, Newbridge. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMr Ibe is of no fixed abode but formerly of Moore Park in Newbridge (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 2 Apr2025Anger and resentment ‘could explain why murder accused fatally assaulted man’, psychiatrist tells trial
Reports on prosecution psychiatric testimony at the ongoing murder trial, in which Dr Davoren disputes the defence schizophrenia diagnosis and argues anger and resentment explain the assault.
victim, Peter Kennedy, 65, male, irish (judged from name)Peter Kennedyaccused, Brian Ibe, 23, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Brian Ibevictim, male, irish (judged from name) - 28 Mar2025Psychologist found no evidence murder accused was feigning schizophrenia symptoms
Reports the defence's psychological assessment evidence in which Dr Marie English of the Central Mental Hospital found no evidence of feigning, and details the additional charge of assault causing harm to Garda Brendan O'Donnell at Newbridge Garda Station.
accused, Brian Ibe, 23, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Brian Ibevictim, Peter Kennedy, 65, male, irish (judged from name)Peter Kennedyvictim, male, irish (judged from name) - 26 Mar2025Murder accused assaulted garda after fingerprint and DNA samples taken, trial hears
Garda O'Donnell's evidence about the assault during fingerprint/DNA sampling, details of Ibe's background and relationship with the victim, his mother's account of witnessing the attack, his responses during interviews, and the prosecution's position on the insanity defence.
victim, Peter Kennedy, 65, male, irish (judged from name)Peter Kennedyaccused, Brian Ibe, 23, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Brian Ibe - 21 Mar2025Teen taken in by ‘kind’ man ‘demanded money and twice threatened to kill him’, murder trial hears
Witness testimony from Rita Swords, Linda Mannion, Damian Molyneaux and Chris Pender describing Kennedy's fear of Ibe, who demanded money, threatened to kill him twice, and once stood over him threatening to stab him. Also mentions Ibe's separate charge of assault causing harm to Garda Brendan O'Donnell at Newbridge Garda station.
victim, Peter Kennedy, 65, male, irish (judged from name)Peter Kennedyvictim, male, irish (judged from name)suspect, Brian Ibe, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Brian Ibe - 19 Mar2025‘Kind’ man (65) died after attack by teen who had come to live with him, court told
Covers the commencement of the trial with the DPP's opening speech, providing background on the relationship between Ibe and Kennedy, the sequence of events on 28 April 2020, the pathologist's findings, and the legal framework for the insanity and diminished responsibility defences.
victim, Peter Kennedy, 65, male, irish (judged from name)Peter Kennedyvictim, male, irish (judged from name)accused, Brian Ibe, 24, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Brian Ibe - 18 Mar2025Man (24) pleads not guilty by reason of insanity to murder of Peter Kennedy
Jury sworn in and trial commenced; accused pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to both murder and assault causing harm charges; prosecution and defence expert witnesses identified; trial expected to last two weeks.
victim, Peter Kennedy, 65, male, irish (judged from name)Peter Kennedysuspect, Brian Ibe, 24, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Brian Ibevictim, male, irish (judged from name)