A Co Tipperary man who shot his father dead at the family home has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Paul Lane (25) with an address at Ballydavid, Littleton, Co Tipperary shot his father Michael Christopher Lane (50) on September 3rd, 2006. He had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder.
The court heard that Mr Lane retrieved the shotgun from his brother’s bedroom and entered the sitting room where his father and mother sat watching Tipperary play in the All Ireland minor hurling final. He fired two shots, ignoring his father’s pleas.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court returned with their verdict after deliberating for just under an hour. Mr Justice George Birmingham told them they had clearly reached the appropriate verdict and thanked them for their service.
Earlier the court heard evidence from consultant psychiatrist for the defence Dr Connor O’Neill, who diagnosed the accused as suffering from schizophrenia. He said Mr Lane was exhibiting symptoms such as paranoid delusions, delusions of control and hallucinations.
Dr O’Neill told the jury that Paul Lane’s illness began developing at the age of 20 when he started hearing voices. He said Mr Lane had a family history of mental illness and had smoked cannabis in the past but had stopped because it made him paranoid and hear voices. He wasn’t using the drug at the time of the shooting.
Dr O’Neill told the court Mr Lane was currently being treated with a form of psychotic medication reserved only for the most severe form of schizophrenia that is otherwise untreatable.
The jury was told that in the months leading up to the shooting the accused was suffering from paranoid delusions believing that people on the television and his neighbours were talking about him.
On the day of the shooting Paul Lane believed he was possessed and he heard his father’s voice telling him he was going to hell. He told Dr O’Neill he thought his father was going to kill him because he couldn’t get close to him as a son.
Dr O’Neill said that Mr Lane also suffered from religious delusions and told him: "The good forces left me and the dark forces took over."
Mr Justice Birmingham directed that Mr Lane be committed to the Central Mental Hospital until further order. He expressed his sympathy to the Lane family for what they had been through. "It has obviously been an appalling tragedy," he said.