Father of Louth triple murder accused told social worker he had "serious concerns" for family's safety

The father of Robert O'Connor, who is accused of murdering his parents and younger special needs brother, reported to a social worker a decade ago that he had "serious concerns" for his family's safety and thought they "could be killed in the future", a psychiatrist has told the Central Criminal Court.

The trial also heard that the accused was considered appropriate for detention by mental health services in 2014 after he threatened to kill his parents.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Fiona Toal, called to give evidence by the defence, also told the trial today that the accused was experiencing a relapse of schizophrenia when he fatally stabbed the three members of his family and did not know what he was doing was wrong and couldn't refrain from committing the act.

The expert witness found that the accused meets the criteria for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006.

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From her engagements with Robert, the witness found the accused had very clear psychiatric symptoms, had bizarre beliefs regarding his parents and thought they were imposters who controlled his thoughts.

The accused also told her he thought his brother Evan was controlling him on an iPad on the night of the fatal attack and referred to him as "the ultimate controller".

Robert O'Connor, of Drumgowna, Louth Village, Dundalk, Co Louth, has pleaded not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, or guilty of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility to the triple murder of his mother Louise (56), his father Mark (54) and his younger brother Evan (27) at their home between September 28 and 29 2025, both dates inclusive.

The Central Criminal Court jury has been told that the accused accepts he caused the death of the three victims, who had sustained a combined 139 stab wounds.

In her evidence, Dr Toal told Michael Bowman SC, defending, that her and the State's psychiatrist's conclusions are "incredibly aligned", with both parties agreeing that diminished responsibility is made out for the three deaths.

Dr Toal said both psychiatrists agree that the accused suffered with a relapse of schizophrenia in September 2025, having been diagnosed with the mental disorder in 2018. She said the symptoms were probably present for many years before this.

The witness said the accused started smoking cannabis at 13 years old and this later progressed to cocaine, which caused significant arguments at home.

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It was noted that he abused an extensive amount of drugs when he was younger, spent time in a drug rehabilitation facility at 17 years old and intermittently engaged with drugs and alcohol services.

Dr Toal said the accused went to his GP at 16 years old with symptoms of depression and a background of polysubstance abuse. He was prescribed an antidepressant in 2011 and reported using drugs as a strategy for dealing with unpleasant emotions but wasn't assessed as acutely psychotic at the time.

Robert was assessed by a psychiatrist at 19 years old, where he reported feeling increasingly paranoid and anxious. The accused's symptoms were attributed to drug psychosis and social anxiety, for which he was prescribed antipsychotic medication.

In 2014, the witness said Robert went to a psychiatrist after reporting feelings he wanted to hurt and hit out at people at certain times.

She said the accused was considered appropriate for being detained by mental health services in March 2014 after he threatened to kill his parents.

He applied to be admitted as an involuntary patient but, as he had taken 'LSD' the week before, there was an impression of drug-induced psychosis.

"It was felt this protracted history of intermittent drug use was the reason for his symptoms," commented Dr Toal.

She said notes indicated that the accused's parents were very concerned for their own safety. Robert continued to describe paranoid delusions about his parents and was put on quite a high dose of antipsychotics.

In another review on March 31, 2014, the accused denied ongoing paranoid thoughts, accepted his symptoms were drug related and was discharged.

Dr Toal said a discharge note written by a social worker communicating with Mark O'Connor had documented "very, very significant family concerns".

Mr O'Connor reported that his son had been depressed for two years and was hearing voices for the previous 18 months. He expressed "serious concerns" for his family and his wife’s safety and “there was an indication that they could be killed in the future.”

In 2018, the witness said Louise O'Connor contacted the GP about Robert getting very aggressive when he saw a man in a shirt and wanting to kill him. Dr Toal said Robert reported violent thoughts and believed that birds flying around him were mocking him.

Dr Toal said the accused's mother reported her son's extreme moods, aggression and talking to himself in 2018. She said the accused reported abstinence from substances for a year and there was collateral evidence from Louise O'Connor confirming this.

Dr Toal went on to say that "given the absence of drug use for at least a year, Robert was formally diagnosed with schizophrenia at the end of 2018". The accused, who was then 24 years old, was commenced on stronger antipsychotic medication and referred for intensive community support.

The witness said there was collateral evidence from his family that while the accused wasn't taking illicit drugs between 2018 and 2024, he had relapses throughout this time.

In February 2025, the witness said the O'Connor family went to the GP with concerns Robert was unwell again. The accused admitted to drug use since the previous Christmas and was diagnosed with a relapse of schizophrenia in the context of recent substance misuse.

She said Robert was last reviewed by a psychiatrist in August 2025 and denied any psychotic symptoms. The impression was his illness was stable, he was put on a newer drug associated with less weight gain and scheduled for an outpatient review in four months time.

The witness said at the time of the offence Robert was under the care of a mental health team. She said the accused reported that he stopped taking his medication in August 2025 as it slowed his brain and impaired his thinking. She said in the 24 hours before the offence, the accused reported taking cocaine mixed with mephedrone.

The witness said the accused told her he started to take drugs again five weeks before the offence and was using up to three times a week. She said he reported staying up the night before doing cocaine and watching 'hypnosis porn'.

The witness said Robert tried very hard to convince her he did not have a mental illness.

She said his lack of insight meant he frequently stopped his medication after periods of being well and would then relapse.

She said the accused is on a waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital and continues to be treated for schizophrenia with antipsychotic medication.

In conclusion, the witness said the accused's psychotic symptoms presented early in life and were initially attributed to drug use. She said substance abuse disorder is extremely common in schizophrenic patients.

She said the real point of difference between her and Dr Ronan Mullaney, for the prosecution, was in what way they found the mental disorder affected the accused's thinking and behaviour at the time of the offence.

Dr Toal found the accused did know the nature and quality of the act. However, she said as the accused's thinking was extremely disordered in the context of experiencing a resurgence of delusions he had held for 15 years this led him to not believing what he was doing was morally wrong.

She also found that Robert was not in control of his functioning and his understanding of reality was so "warped" that being able to refrain from committing the act would have made no sense to him at the time.

The three criteria for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006 are that an accused did not know the nature and quality of the act, or was unable to appreciate that what they did at the time was wrong or would have been unable to refrain from their actions.

The trial continues on Monday before Mr Justice Mícheál P O’Higgins and a jury of six men and six women.