Man Accused Of Axe Attack On Uncle

A man accused of killing his uncle in a horrific axe attack has appeared in court.

Henry McLaren, 34, of Edenmore Drive, Raheny, denies the murder of his uncle, Thomas Dempsey during February 2007.

A consultant psychiatrist for Mr McLarnen told the court on Tuesday he believed the accused was suffering from mental illness during the murder. He said: "I don't have any doubt that on the day his uncle was killed Henry McLaren was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and his actions were driven by the illness."

Professor Marie Cassidy told prosecuting counsel Mr Patrick Gageby SC that Mr Dempsey died from massive head injuries and had been struck at least twenty times with an axe, causing a large hole in the left side of his skull and severely damaging his brain.

Prof Cassidy said Mr Dempsey had no defence injuries suggesting he had been taken by surprise or quickly over come. She said that the amount of force used was definite "over kill" and the attack could be described as "frenzied".

Detective Garda Liam O'Sullivan told Mr Gageby that Mr McLaren had insisted he be called Red and refused to sign his statements with his real name. He told gardai Jimmy Hendrix had told him to kill his uncle. "He said he was the devil. I am a man and Jimmy is a woman. We are a couple."

Mr McLaren said he knew white people were the devil from watching television and it was his job to look after the coal in the house because coal was black. "Everyone knows God is black."

Dr McCaffrey said that Mr McLaren had committed the killing in a kind of fantasy. "He wasn't aware of the screaming or shouting. He was in a dream world away on his own, totally away from reality."

Dr McCaffery further said of the gruesome nature of the killing: "I have seen this before with someone who had schizophrenia but I have never seen it before in someone who didn't have schizophrenia."

(DW)