A New York man was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2024 killing of his 66-year-old father at a hotel in Ireland.
Henry McGowan, 31, of Brooklyn, learned the verdict on Thursday, Feb. 12, after an Irish jury deliberated for an hour and 23 minutes, The New York Times reported.
McGowan had pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of insanity. During the trial, two psychiatrists testified that he was suffering from schizoaffective disorder when he killed his father, John McGowan, a financier from Ridgefield, Connecticut, at the Ballyfin Demesne Hotel in County Laois on Nov. 12, 2024, according to The Irish Times. The psychiatrists said they believed he was experiencing a psychotic break at the time.
McGowan, who testified that he believed he was a prophet or superhero and that he was killing an impostor rather than his father, will be remanded to Dublin’s Central Mental Hospital, where he had already been receiving treatment, according to the report.
On the witness stand, McGowan said he strangled his father with his bare hands and told him he would “always love him” as he took his last breath, The Irish Times reported.
Defense attorney Michael Bowman called the case “particularly tragic,” saying the elder McGowan’s fatherly instinct led him to prioritize his son’s well-being over his own, with “fatal consequences,” according to the outlet. Prosecutor Brendan Grehan echoed that sentiment, saying John flew to Ireland to help his son “without even stopping to drop a bag,” The Irish Times reported.
McGowan’s mental health struggles began in his mid-twenties, The New York Times reported. In 2023, ahead of the New York City Marathon, he wrote in a fundraising post for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) that he had a manic episode in January 2022 and was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder. He said he later left the hospital and began “reconnecting with reality,” as well as with friends, family, work, and hobbies.
He went on to run the 2023 New York Marathon and raised more than $10,000 for the organization.
By the fall of 2024, however, McGowan began experiencing another crisis while traveling in Europe, according to The New York Times. A friend told his family he had been acting erratically in London, and as he headed to Dublin, McGowan called relatives and said he had stopped taking his medication.
Concerned he needed immediate help, his father booked an overnight flight to Dublin, the family told the outlet. After arriving in Ireland, John learned that Henry was at a local hospital seeking admission because of racing and intrusive thoughts, The New York Times reported. The hospital wanted to admit him but did not have a bed available at the time, according to the report.
Told to try another hospital in the morning, father and son stayed at the Ballyfin Demesne Hotel, where Henry had already booked a room. John told Dr. Lisa Cunningham, an Ireland-based doctor assisting the family, that he planned to stay awake and watch over his son until he could get him to a hospital.
Worried Henry could harm himself or someone else, Cunningham continued making calls and found a hospital near the hotel that agreed to admit him, The New York Times reported. Henry’s family in the United States tried calling John to relay the updated plan, but he did not answer.
Soon afterward, the family learned there had been a fatal incident at the hotel. One of John’s children later texted Cunningham a link to a news story about what happened and wrote, “Henry killed our dad,” according to The New York Times.
